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THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


THE  AMERICAN  HISTORY  SERIES 


Seven  volumes,  12mo,  with  maps  and  plans. 
Price  per  volume,  $1.00,  net. 

THR  COLONIAL  ERA.— By  Rev.  Gborgb  P.  Fisher, 
D.D.,  LL.D.,  Professor  of  Ecclesiastical,  History  in 
Yale  University. 

THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION. -By 
William  M.  Sloane,  Ph.D.,  Professor  of  History  in 
Columbia  University. 

THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION.— By  General  Francis 
A.  Walker,  LL.D.,  late  President  of  the  Massachusetts 
Institute  of  Technology. 

THE  MIDDLE  PERIOD.— By  John  W.  Burgess.  Ph.D., 
LL.D.,  Professor  of  Political  Science  and  Constitutional 
Law  in  Columbia  University. 

THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  THE  CONSTITUTION. -By 
John  W.  Burgess,  Ph.D.,  LL.D.,  Professor  of  Political 
Science  and  Constitutional  Law  in  Columbia  University. 
2  vols. 

RECONSTRUCTION  AND  THE  CONSTITUTION.-By 
John  W.  Burgess,  Ph.D.,  LL.D.,  Professor  of  Political 
Science  and  Constitutional  Law  in  Columbia  University. 


THE  AMERICAN  HISTORY  SERIES 


THE 

MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 

1783-1817 


BT 

FRANCIS  A.  WALKER,  Ph.D.,  LL.D. 

PRESIDENT  MASSACHUSETTS  INSTITUTE  OF  TECHNOLOGY 


WITH  MAPS  AJ^D  APPENDICES 


NEW  YORK 
CHARLES  SCEIBNER'S  SONS 

T909 


Copyright,  1895,  by 
Charles  Scribneb's  Sons 


3.4- 


PREFACE 


I  DESIRE  most  cordially  to  acknowledge  my  obli- 
gations to  Professor  Charles  H.  Levermore  and  to  Pro- 
fessor Charles  F.  A.  Currier  for  their  assistance  in 
reading  the  manuscripts  or  the  proofs  of  this  volume, 
and  for  suggestions  at  many  points  by  which  I  have 
been  saved  from  errors  such  as  beset  every  one  who 
undertakes  to  write  of  the  life  of  any  people  through 
any  considerable  period  of  time,  or  by  which  I  have 
been  helped  to  make  this  narrative  more  comprehensive 
and  life-like.  Neither  of  these  gentlemen,  however,  can 
be  held  responsible  for  any  mistakes  which  may  be  found 
to  exist  in  spite  of  their  friendly  revision.  All  of  these 
are  wholly  my  own.  Professor  Currier  has  made  up  the 
bibliography,  which  is  appended,  with  far  more  knowl- 
edge of  the  historical  literature  of  the  period  than  I 
could  claim  to  possess. 

Boston,  March  22, 1895. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  1. 

PAGE 

The  Confederation,  1783-87,  1 

Weakness  of  the  Confederation — Reasons  for  the  Lack  of  an 
Adequate  Feeling  of  American  Nationality — Geographical 
Relations  of  the  Thirteen  Colonies — Differences  of  Race, 
Language,  and  Religion— Danger  of  Disunion  at  Close  of 
Revolution — Principal  Points  of  Weakness  in  the  Con- 
federation— Financial  Embarrassments  Resulting  from  the 
Refusal  of  States  to  Comply  with  the  Requisitions  of  Con- 
gress— Revenue  System,  Proposed  in  1783,  Fails — Au- 
thority of  Confederation  Defied  in  Disputes  between 
States — Decline  of  Congress  in  Character  and  Influence 
— Shays^s  Rebellion  in  Massachusetts — Failure  of  Com- 
mercial Convention  at  Annapolis,  in  1786 — Constitutional 
Convention  called  at  Philadelphia,  in  1787. 


CHAPTER  IL 

The  Constitutional  Convention  of  1787,  .  .  .21 
The  Convention  meets  May  14th — Absence  of  Rhode  Island 
— Delegates  Appointed,  62 — Number  Attending  at  any 
Time,  55 — Number  Signing  the  Constitution,  39 — Eminent 
Character  of  the  State  Delegations — Respective  Contribu- 
tions of  Different  Classes  of  Delegates— The  Party  of  Ob- 
struction— The  Leading  Spirits  of  the  Convention — Doubts 
as  to  a  Successful  Result— Views  Held  as  to  the  Relations 
between  the  Confederation  and  the  States — The  Three 
Dominating  Issues  of  the  Convention— A  Federal  or  a  Na- 
tional Government — Equal  or  Proportional  Representation 
of  the  States —Representation  on  Account  of  Slaves— Re- 
sults on  these  Issues — The  Work  of  the  Committee  on 
Detail  Introduces  Three  New  Issues— Taxation  of  Exports 


viii 


CONTENTS 


— ^The  Slave-trade — Two-thirds  Vote  on  Navigation  Acts — 
Extensive  Disaffection  of  Delegates — Withdrawal  of  Some 
— Adoption  of  the  Constitution— Nine  States  Sufficient  for 
Katification — This  Measure  Revolutionary — The  Whole 
Work  of  the  Convention  Revolutionary — Called  to  Amend 
the  Articles  of  Confederation,  it  Throws  them  Over  at  the 
Beginning  —  Impossibility  of  Deriving  the  Constitution 
Legitimately  from  Either  the  Confederation  or  the  Revolu- 
tionary Congress — The  Ordinance  of  1787  among  the  Clos- 
ing Acts  of  the  Congress  of  the  Confederation— Importance 
of  this  Measure. 


CHAPTER  III. 

The  Constitution  as  Submitted  to  the  People,  ,  .  41 
A  National  Form  of  Government— Organization  of  Congress 
— Rule  as  to  Suffrage  in  National  Elections  :  The  Cause  of 
this  Found  in  the  Varying  Rules  of  the  Several  States — 
The  Powers  of  Congress — Acts  Forbidden  to  Congress — Acts 
Forbidden  to  the  States — Powers  and  Duties  of  the  Exec- 
utive —  The  Judiciary  :  Its  J urisdiction  —  Trials  of  all 
Crimes  to  be  by  Jury — Definition  of  Treason — Relations 
between  Individual  States  and  between  the  States  and  the 
United  States  :  Mutual  Faith  and  Credit,  the  Rule— New 
States— The  Territories- Guarantee  to  the  States  of  a  Re- 
publican Form  of  Government — Future  Amendments  to 
the  Constitution— Integrity  of  the  Financial  Obligations  of 
the  Confederation— The  Constitution  to  be  the  Supreme 
Law  of  the  Land— National  and  State  Officers  to  be  Bound 
by  Oath  to  Support  the  Constitution  —  The  Ratification 
of  Nine  States  Sufficient  to  Establish  the  New  Govern- 
ment. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Ratification  and  the  Inauguration  op  the  Govern- 
ment,  51 

Difficulties  Attending  Ratification— Pennsylvania  and  the 
Smaller  States  Promptly  Accept  the  Constitution— Grounds 
of  Opposition  in  the  Larger  States— Absence  of  a  Bill  of 
Rights— "The  Federalist  "—The  Tories  Support  the  Con- 


CONTENTS 


ix 


stitution — The  Massachusetts  Convention  Ratifies,  187  to 
168 — Maryland  and  South  Carolina  Join  the  Union — New 
Hampshire,  the  Ninth  State,  Accedes — The  Constitution 
Formally  Accepted — Great  Importance  of  Securing,  also, 
New  York  and  Virginia  —  The  Conventions  in  those 
States — The  Constitution  Fiercely  Opposed — General  Con- 
sent to  the  Subsequent  Adoption  of  Amendments  in  the 
Nature  of  a  Bill  of  Rights — Virginia  and  New  York  Fi- 
nally Ratify,  the  Latter,  30  to  27 — North  Carolina  and 
Rhode  Island  Stay  Out — The  Government  Organized — 
George  Washington  Chosen  President — John  Adams,  Vice- 
President — Congress  Assembles,  March  4,  1789  :  No  Quo- 
rum until  April  6th — Inauguration  of  Washington,  April 
30th  —  The  Beneficent  Influence  of  Washington  in  the 
Establishment  of  the  New  Government  —  Extent  of  the 
United  States  :  Population — The  Western  Colonies — The 
State  of  the  Arts — Agriculture  the  Predominant  Occupa- 
tion of  the  People  —  Reasons  for  the  High  Productive 
Power  of  the  United  States :  A  Vast  Breadth  of  Virgin 
Lands  ;  Popular  Tenure  of  the  Soil  ;  the  Cultivating  Class 
not  a  Peasantry — The  Remarkable  Mechanical  and  In- 
ventive Genius  of  the  People  :  The  Genesis  of  this  Trait 
Explained. 


CHAPTER  V. 

Washington's  First  Term,  73 

Acts  and  Events  Completing  the  Union  and  Closing  the 
Career  of  the  Confederation — The  Accession  of  North  Caro- 
lina and  Rhode  Island — The  First  Ten  Amendments  to  the 
Constitution— The  Funding  of  the  Debts  of  the  Confedera- 
tion and  the  Assumption  of  State  Debts— The  other  Finan- 
cial Measures  of  Washington's  First  Term — The  Mint — 
The  National  Bank  —  Tonnage  Duties  —  Customs  Duties 
—  Excise  Duties  —  Great  Opposition  to  the  Bank  —  The 
Division  of  the  Cabinet— The  Constitutional  Doctrine  of 
Implied  Powers — Excise  Duties  Fiercely  Antagonized  in 
Congress — Mr.  Jefferson  Takes  the  Lead  in  Opposition — 
Unpopularity  of  the  Whiskey  Tax — Special  Reasons  there- 
for. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  VL 

FAGB 

Washington's  First  Term— Continued,  ....  88 
Formation  of  Executive  Departments — Development  of  the 
Cabinet — The  Constitution  Silent  on  this  Subject — Con- 
gress Establishes  the  Departments  of  State,  of  Treasury, 
and  of  War — Also  Provides  for  the  Appointment  of  an 
Attorney-General — Practice  of  the  Early  Presidents  Re- 
garding the  Function  of  the  Cabinet — Should  Cabinet 
Officers  Sit  in  Congress,  or  Occasionally  Meet  with  Con- 
gress, or  Communicate  with  that  Body  Only  in  Writing  ? 
— The  Last  Procedure  Adopted — Washington's  Cabinet : 
Jefferson,  Hamilton,  Knox,  Randolph — Parties  Under  the 
Constitution  not  yet  Formed — Antagonism  Developed  be- 
tween Jefferson  and  Hamilton — State's  Rights  vs.  National 
Aggrandizement — Washington  Consents  to  Re-election — 
Opposition  of  Antifederalists  to  Mr.  Adams  —  Organiza- 
tion of  the  Supreme  Court — Washington's  Appointments 
Strongly  Federalist — John  J  ay,  Chief- Justice — The  Foreign 
Relations  of  Washington's  First  Term — Weakness  of  the 
United  States  Abroad — Washington's  Policy  of  Neutrality, 
especially  as  between  France  and  England — Rising  Passion 
of  Antifederalist  Sympathizers  with  French  Revolutionists 
— Colonialism  in  American  Public  Life — War  with  the 
Miamis — The  Indian  Policy  of  the  United  States — The 
Permanent  Seat  of  Government — The  District  of  Columbia 
and  the  City  of  Washington — The  First  Census  and  the 
Redistribution  of  Representation  in  Congress — The  Fugi- 
tive-Slave Law — Admission  of  New  States — Influence  of 
the  States  beyond  the  Alleghanies  upon  the  Growth  of 
American  Nationality — Difficulties  Arising  at  the  West 
from  the  Spanish  Control  of  the  Mississippi — Unanimous 
Re-election  of  Washington  —  Adams  Re-elected  by  a 
Smaller  Vote. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Washington's  Second  Term,  115 

Foreign  Relations  —  The  Genet  Episode  —  Difficulties  with 
France — England  and  France  Vying  with  each  Other  in 
Wrong  to  the  United  States  —With  which  should  We  go  to 
War  ?— The  Whiskey  Insurrection— The  Militia  Called 


CONTENTS 


xi 


Out — Democratic  Societies — The  Funding  System— The 
Admission  of  Tennessee — Oliver  Ellsworth  becomes  Chief- 
Justice — The  Eleventh  Amendment  to  the  Constitution — 
The  Disruption  of  the  Cabinet  and  the  Movement  of 
Parties — Jefferson's  Commercial  Report — New  Cabinet  Ap- 
pointments—Randolph Retires  from  Office  under  a  Cloud 
— Hamilton  Resigns :  His  Services  to  the  New  Govern- 
ment— Knox  is  Succeeded  by  Timothy  Pickering — Wash- 
ington's Last  Cabinet :  Painful  Decline  in  Ability — Party 
Divisions  go  Rapidly  Forward — The  Third  Presidential 
Election  :  John  Adams  Chosen — Jefferson  Becomes  Vice- 
President,  though  of  the  Opposite  Party — Defective  Method 
of  Choosing  President  and  Vice-President. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
The  Administration  of  John  Adams,  .  .  .  .137 
President  Adams  Retains  Washington's  Cabinet — Foreign 
Affairs — Difficulties  with  France  Aggravated — A  Special 
Mission  Sent — Envoys  Insulted — War  Imminent — Feder- 
alist Enthusiasm — Washington  Appointed  Commander-in- 
Chief — Schemes  of  Hamilton  and  Miranda — Spanish  Pos- 
sessions to  be  Seized  —  President  Adams  Sends  a  New 
Mission — The  French  Treaty — The  Spoliation  Claims — 
Taxation  in  this  Administration — Stamp  Duties  Arouse 
Opposition  —  The  Direct  Tax  —  Inefficiency  of  this  Tax 
in  the  United  States  —  Resistance  to  the  Law  —  Con- 
viction of  the  Rioters  —Fries  Pardoned  —  Anger  of  the 
Federalists— What  Constitutes  Treason  ? — Navy  Depart- 
ment Created — Alien  and  Sedition  Laws — Furious  Opposi- 
tion by  the  Republicans -  Nullification  Resolutions  of  Vir- 
ginia and  Kentucky — Responses  of  Federalist  States — 
Madison's  Defence— Congress  Meets  in  the  New  Capital 
— The  First  Bankruptcy  Law — The  Second  Census — Death 
of  Washington  —  Split  in  the  Cabinet — Secretaries  Intrigue 
against  the  President — Hamilton's  Opposition  to  Adams — 
His  Pamphlet —The  Fourth  Presidential  Election  -  Adams 
Defeated — Jefferson  and  Burr  Receive  an  Equal  Vote — 
Contest  in  the  House — Federalists  take  up  Burr — Jeffer- 
son Finally  Chosen  President — Causes  of  the  Defeat  of  the 
Federalists — Marshall  Becomes  Chief-Justice. 


xii 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  IX. 

PAOB 

Jefferson's  First  Term,  168 

Twelfth  Amendment  to  the  Constitution — Alleged  Corrupt 
Bargain — Removal  of  Officeholders — Repeal  of  the  Circuit 
Courts  Bill  —  War  on  the  Judiciary  —  Impeachment  of 
Judges  Addison,  Chase,  and  Others — Admission  of  Ohio — 
Reapportionment  of  Representation  —  Military  Academy 
Founded — Repeal  of  Excise  Duties — Naturalization — Re- 
peal of  Bankruptcy  Act — Florida  and  Louisiana — Spain 
Cedes  Louisiana  to  France  —  Napoleon  Sells  it  to  the 
United  States — Political  Consequences  of  this  Measure — 
Republican  Party  Surrenders  Principle  of  Strict  Construc- 
tion— Difficulty  with  Spain — Abortive  Treaty  with  Eng- 
land— Changes  in  the  Cabinet — Re-election  of  Jefferson— 
Burr  Kills  Hamilton. 

CHAPTER  X. 

Jefferson's  Second  Term,  190 

Foreign  Affairs — English  and  French  Outrages — The  Right 
of  Search— Insolently  .Exercised  by  British  Cruisers— Im- 
pressment of  American  Seamen — The  Affair  of  the  Chesa- 
peake—  "Contraband  of  War"  —  Right  of  Blockade  — 
England  and  France  Compete  in  Injuries  to  our  Commerce 
—England  Sets  up  the  *^Rule  of  1756  "—The  British 
Blockades  —  Napoleon  Retaliates  upon  the  "Orders  in 
Council "  with  his  Berlin  and  Milan  Decrees — The  Bay- 
onne  Decree — The  Monroe  Treaty  with  England — Jefferson 
Refuses  to  Send  it  to  the  Senate — Jefferson's  Proclamation 
Ordering  British  Men-of-War  out  of  American  Waters — 
The  Non-Importation  Act — The  Embargo — Resentment  of 
the  Commercial  States — Mr.  Jefferson  Hostile  to  the  Carry- 
ing Trade  and  to  General  Commerce — The  Embargo  Breaks 
Down — Troubles  with  Spain — Proposed  Purchase  of  Flor- 
ida— Measures  of  National  Defence — Jefferson's  * '  Mosquito 
Fleet"— The  Cumberland  Road— The  Policy  of  Internal 
Improvements — Fulton's  Steamboat— Trial  of  Aaron  Burr 
for  Treason — Burr's  Designs — The  Finances  under  Presi- 
dent Jefferson  —  Abolition  of  the  Slave-trade  in  1808  — 
Anti-slavery  Agitation — Lewis  and  Clarke's  Expedition 


CONTENTS 


xiii 


— Cabinet  Changes — Mr.  Jefferson  Refuses  a  Renomina- 
tion — The  Sixth  Presidential  Election — No  Longer  the  Vice- 
President  Succeeds  ;  It  is  Now  the  Secretary  of  State — 
James  Madison  of  Virginia  Nominated — His  Services  to 
his  Party  and  to  the  Country. 

CHAPTER  XI. 

The  Controveksy  with  England,  214 

Madison's  Cabinet — His  Policy  of  Conciliation  toward  the 
Federalists — Rapprochement  of  the  Two  Parties — Ran- 
dolph's Faction  of  "Old  Republicans'*  and  the  Irrecon- 
cilable Federalists  of  New  England  Hold  Aloof  —  The 
Trouble  with  England — Napoleon  Retaliates  with  the 
Rambouillet  Decree — Alleged  Repeal  of  the  French  De- 
crees—Non-Intercourse Act  Withdrawn  as  Against  France 
— Controversy  over  this  Action — Secretary  Smith  Re- 
signs— His  Protest  — James  Monroe  Becomes  Secretary  of 
State  and  Heir-Apparent— Of  the  Two  Nations  Doing  us 
Wrong,  the  Administration  Selects  England  as  an  Antago- 
nist— The  War  Party — The  New  Men — Congress  Meets — 
Warlike  Preparations  —  The  Henry  Episode  —  Madison's 
Renomination— W^ar  Declared  against  England — The  Fed- 
eralist Protest  —  Failure  of  Further  Negotiations  —  The 
Hanson  Riot  in  Baltimore. 

CHAPTER  XIL 

The  War  of  1812-15,  230 

Our  Remarkable  Success  on  the  Ocean — The  Privateers — 
Ignominious  Failure  on  Land — Our  Naval  Victories  Ac- 
counted for — Comparative  Strength  of  the  Belligerents — 
The  Invasion  of  Canada  Collapses  Perry's  Victory  on 
Lake  Erie — Further  Disasters  on  the  Canada  Line — Credit- 
able Actions  under  Brown  and  Scott — McDonough's  Vic- 
tory on  Lake  Champlain — Burning  of  Washington — Suc- 
cessful Defence  of  Baltimore— Jackson's  Victories  at  the 
South — Battle  of  New  Orleans — The  Treaty  of  Peace — 
The  Objects  of  the  War  not  Mentioned — Opposition  to  the 
War --Mr.  Jefferson  Believed  to  be  Hostile  to  Commercial 


xiv 


CONTENTS 


Interests  —  His  Remarkable  Political  Economy  —  Alleged 
Treasonable  Acts  in  New  England — Refusal  of  the  Gover- 
nors of  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut  to  Allow  the  Mili- 
tia to  March — The  Hartford  Convention :  Its  Personnel; 
Popular  Denunciation  of  the  Convention :  The  Actual 
Work  of  the  Convention  :  Suggested  Amendments  to  the 
Constitution ;  Nullifying  Measures  Proposed ;  Constitu- 
tional Objections  to  any  such  Gathering— The  Terms  of 
Peace :  The  Fisheries  :  The  General  Neutrality  Law — 
Coercion  of  the  Barbary  States  —  The  Indian  Allies  of 
Great  Britain. 

CHAPTER  Xin. 

The  Civil  Events  of  Madison's  Administration,  .  .  256 
The  Seventh  Presidential  Election — DeWitt  Clinton  Nomi- 
nated by  the  Disaffected  Republicans  and  Supported  by 
the  Federalists — Madison  Re-elected — The  Third  Census — 
Redistribution  of  Representatives — The  Strengthening  of 
National  Authority — The  Olmstead  Case — Chief-Justice 
Marshall's  Contributions  to  American  Nationality — Expiry 
of  the  National  Bank — Financial  Measures  Incident  to  the 
War — The  Republican  Party  Driven  to  Direct  Taxes  and 
other  Offensive  Means  of  Obtaining  Revenue — The  Salary- 
grab  Bill — New  States — Economic  Measures — The  New 
Age — President  Madison  Advocates  a  Protective  Tariff — 
The  Protectionist  Argument  of  that  time — Position  of  the 
South— The  Tariff  of  1816— The  Second  National  Bank— 
The  Navigation  Act — Internal  Improvements — Changes  in 
the  Cabinet — Mr.  Monroe  Chosen  President — Retrospect 

APPENDIX  I. 

The  Electoral  Vote  in  Detail,  1789-1816,    .     .     .  275 


APPENDIX  II. 

I.— Population  at  the  First  Four  Censuses.  II. — Net 
Ordinary  Receipts  and  Expenditures,  and  Dis- 
bursements ON  Account  op  the  Public  Debt,  1790- 
1817,  281 


CONTENTS  XV 
APPENDIX  III. 

PAGE 

The  Cabinets  op  Washington,  John  Adams,  Jeffer- 
son, AND  Madison,  1789  to  March  3,  1817,      .      .  287 

APPENDIX  IV. 
Constitution  of  the  United  States,     ....  293 

BIBLIOGRAPHY,  309 

INDEX,  .315 

MAPS 

Distribution  of  Population,  1790, 

Distribution  of  Population,  1820,  .      .      ,      .  274 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


CHAPTER  I 

THE  CONFEDERATION,  1783-87 

Weakness  of  the  Confederation — Reasons  for  the  Lack  of  an  Ade- 
quate Feeling  of  American  Nationality — Geographical  Relations 
of  the  Thirteen  Colonies — Differences  of  Race,  Language,  and 
Religion— Danger  of  Disunion  at  Close  of  Revolution — Princi- 
pal Points  of  Weakness  in  the  Confederation— Financial  Em- 
barrassments Resulting  from  the  Refusal  of  States  to  Comply 
with  the  Requisitions  of  Congress — Revenue  System,  Proposed 
in  1783,  Fails— Authority  of  Confederation  Defied  in  Disputes 
between  States— Decline  of  Congress  in  Character  and  Influ- 
ence— Shays's  Rebellion  in  Massachusetts— Failure  of  Commer- 
cial Convention  at  Ahliapolis,  in  1786— Constitutional  Conven- 
tion called  at  Philadelphia,  in  1787. 

The  close  of  the  Kevolutionary  War  found  the  States 
which  had,  by  their  common  efEorts  and  sacrifices, 
achieved  independence  of  Great  Britain  very    ^  , 

J-  rrn        •  Weakness 

loosely  bound  together.  The  ties  between  of  theconfed- 
khem  were  such  as  were  not  unlikely  to  snap 
in  the  first  serious  strain,  even  if  they  did  not  wear  out 
and  drop  away  under  the  mere  commonplace,  vulgar 
irritation  and  dissatisfaction  inseparable  from  the  re- 
straints and  obligations  of  ordinary,  peaceful  political 
life.  One  great  object  had  brought  the  insurgent  col- 
onies together,  though  it  had  not  sufficed  to  make  them 
hearty  and  harmonious  in  council,  in  camp,  and  in  battle. 
That  object  attained,  the  force  which  had  produced  a 


5 


THE  MAKIIsra  OF  THE  KATION 


very  incomplete  and  unsatisfactory  confederation  was 
found  to  be  largely  exhausted. 

It  is  hard  for  Americans^  in  this  day,  to  feel  there 
could  have  been  any  question  whether  there  should  be 
an  American  nation,  or  not.  To  us  it  seems  a  matter 
of  course.  Yet,  in  fact,  the  gravest  doubts  existed,  in 
1783,  whether  the  union,  formed  at  first  for  the  pur- 
poses of  resisting  the  aggressions  of  the  mother  country, 
and  afterward  for  the  achievement  of  independence, 
would  long  be  continued.  The  most  probable  result,  to 
the  mind  of  an  enlightened  thinker,  at  the  time  our  story  - 
begins,  was  that  there  would  be  two  or  three  nations,  or 
leagues  of  States,  established  along  the  Atlantic  coast. 
Prior  to  the  outbreak  of  the  Ke volution,  in  1775,  hardly 
a  trace  of  a  sentiment  of  American  nationality  had  man- 
ifested itself  among  the  colonies.  Carolinians  were  con- 
^  tent  to  be  Carolinians  ;  Virginians  to  be  Vir- 

Lackof..  '  ° 

American  na-  ginians  ;  Ncw  Yorkers  to  be  New  Yorkers. 

Even  the  exigencies  of  war  against  a  common 
enemy,  the  French  and  the  Indians,  had  not  developed 
the  sense  of  common  interest  and  a  common  destiny. 

In  large  part,  the  indifference  to  union,  prior  to  the 
Eevolution,  had  been  due  to  the  geographical  relations 
Geographi-  of  the  colonics.    The  early  settlements  had 

7h?^co?o-  ^^^^  made  along  the  seaboard,  with  the  re- 
suit,  speaking  generally,  that  each  colony  had 
its  own  coast-line,  its  own  harbors,  its  own  interior  water- 
ways. In  consequence,  the  colonies  had  little  depend- 
ence upon  each  other,  and  few  causes  of  dispute  among 
themselves.  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut  did,  in- 
deed, for  a  little  while  (1647-50)  quarrel,  in  a  small  way, 
over  the  dues  levied  at  the  mouth  of  the  Connecticut 
Kiver  (Saybrook)  upon  goods  destined  for  Springfield  ; 
New  York,  Connecticut,  and  New  Jersey  might  quarrel, 
as,  in  fact,  they  did,  after  a  fashion,  even  subsequently  to 


THE  CONFEDERATIOJSr,  1783-87 


3 


the  adoption  of  the  Constitution,  over  the  navigation  of 
the  waters  of  New  York  Bay  ;  *  Virginia  and  Maryland 
had  cause  of  dispute,  traditions  of  which  survive  to  this 
day  in  the  petty  war  of  oyster -men  in  the  Chesapeake 
and  the  Potomac  ;  and  several  of  the  colonies  had  reason 
to  complain  that  their  neighbors  took  advantage  of  a  bet- 
ter geographical  position  to  tax  their  products,  f  Perhaps 
the  greatest  apparent  danger  to  the  peace  of  the  early 
colonies  arose  from  the  geographical  relations  of  Penn- 
sylvania and  Delaware,  the  former  being  inland  from  the 
latter.  But  the  danger  in  this  case  was  practically  re- 
moved by  the  fact  that,  even  after  Delaware  secured  a 
separate  legislature,  the  two  colonies  had  a  common  gov- 
ernor. If,  on  the  contrary,  we  suppose  the  thirteen  col- 
onies to  have  been  planted  up  and  down  the  Mississippi 
and  its  tributaries,  we  shall  see  how  strong  would  have 
been  the  reason,  almost  the  necessity,  for  an  early  union, 
arising  from  their  geographical  relations.  Some  colonies 
would  have  been  at  the  mercy  of  those  who  controlled 
the  navigation  of  the  streams  below.  In  such  a  situa- 
tion even  the  Crown  could  hardly  have  kept  the  peace, 
unless  there  had  been  some  form  of  government  com- 

*  The  question  was  as  to  the  exclusive  right  of  certain  patentees  of 
New  York  State  to  navigate  the  waters  of  New  York  with  steam-vessels. 
Mr.  Webster,  in  his  argument  in  Gibbons  and  Ogden,  describes  the  sit- 
uation as  follows  :  The  North  River  shut  up  by  a  monopoly  from  New 
York ;  the  Sound  interdicted  by  a  penal  law  of  Connecticut ;  reprisals 
authorized  by  New  Jersey  against  citizens  of  New  York." 

t  Virginia  had  taxed  the  tobacco  of  North  Carolina  ;  Pennsylvania  had 
taxed  the  products  of  Maryland,  of  New  Jersey,  and  Delaware  (Curtis, 
History  of  the  Constitution,  vol.  i.,  p.  290).  Newport  took  advantage 
of  certain  Massachusetts  towns  in  its  vicinity  ;  and  was  enabled  to  levy 
duties  on  imported  goods  which  those  towns  paid,  rather  than  go  to  the 
expense  of  carting  goods  overland.  It  was,  later,  one  of  the  arguments 
of  the  opponents  of  the  Constitution  in  New  York,  that  that  State  would, 
by  the  adoption  of  such  a  form  of  government,  lose  the  large  income  it 
derived  from  taxing  products  entering  the  port  of  New  York  but  dea* 
tined  for  consumption  by  the  people  of  Connecticut  and  New  Jersey, 


4 


THE  MAKIISTG  OF  THE  NATION 


mon  to  all  the  colonies,  which  the  most  grasping  and 
aggressive  would  have  been  compelled  to  respect.  This 
view  is  corroborated  when  we  consider  how  quickly  the 
free  navigation  of  the  Mississippi  became  a  vital  issue 
with  the  pioneers  who  passed  the  AUeghanies  after  the 
peace  of  1783  ;  and  how  constantly,  ever  after,  until  the 
question  was  finally  settled  by  the  acquisition  of  Louisi- 
ana, that  region  was  embroiled  by  disputes  arising  from 
this  source. 

Other  causes  which  had  from  the  beginning  tended  to  , 
keep  the  colonies  apart  from  each  other  were  found  in 
differences  of  race,  of  religion,  and,  though  to  a  smaller 
degree,  of  language,*  giving  rise  to  prejudices,  to  jeal- 
ousies, and  even  to  practical  difficulties  in  arranging  for 
any  form  of  common  government.  While  the  settlers 
of  the  Atlantic  coast  were  predominantly  English, 
there  were  important  exceptions  ;  and  those  exceptions 
existed  at  just  that  point,  geographically,  where  they 
would  naturally  exert  the  greatest  force  in  opposing  a 
movement  for  confederation,  f  The  two  almost  purely 
English  groups  of  colonies,  those  of  New  England  and 
those  of  the  South,  were  separated  from  each  other  by 
the  middle  group,  consisting  of  New  York,  New  Jersey, 
Pennsylvania,  and  Delaware,  three  of  which. 

Differences  %/  ^  ' 

of  race  and  the  first  and  the  last  two,  had  been  exten- 
language.  giyeiy  settled  by  people  of  other  races,  chiefly 
Dutch,  Germans,  and  Swedes,  with  an  admixture  of 
French  and  even  of  Finns.  It  does  not  need  to  be  said 
that  differences  of  race  and  speech,  with  the  differences 
as  to  usage,  habits,  and  institutions  which  are  sure  to 

*  There  was  a  time  when  the  laws  of  New  York  were  regularly  printed 
in  three  languages. 

t  One  will  obtain  a  lively  sense  of  the  prejudices  which  existed,  for  ex- 
ample, between  the  Dutch  of  New  York  and  their  New  England  neigh- 
bors, and  which  remained  in  full  force  far  into  the  present  century,  by 
reading  some  of  the  local  novels  of  Fenimore  Cooper. 


THE  CONFEDERATION,  1783-87 


5 


accompany  these,  constitute  a  powerful  obstacle  to  po- 
litical union,  even  as  against  a  strong  and  earnest  move- 
ment toward  union.  In  the  absence  of  any  such  im- 
pulse, they  might  suffice  to  keep  neighboring  communi- 
ties apart  and  distinct  for  centuries. 

Perhaps  differences  of  religious  belief  and  practice 
exerted  even  more  influence  than  did  differences  of  race 
and  speech,  in  producing  among  the  colonies  that  dis- 
trust and  dislike,  those  prejudices  and  animosities, 
which  would  have  withstood  even  a  strong  motive  to 
confederation.  When  one  mentions  religious  differ- 
ences, the  instances  first  rising  to  the  mind  are  apt  to 
be  those  of  the  Catholics  of  Maryland,  the  Quakers  of 
Pennsylvania,  and  the  Baptists  of  Khode  Island,  the 
last  two  confessions  being  almost  as  fully  Reugious  dif- 
outlawed,  in  the  view  of  the  Englishmen  of  Terences, 
the  eighteenth  century,  as  the  first.  But  it  is  doubtful 
whether  these  three  communions  exerted  an  influence 
hostile  to  a  common  government  equal  to  that  exerted 
by  divisions  of  belief,  of  practice,  and  of  organization 
among  the  other  colonists.  The  bitterness  of  religious 
controversy  is  often  not  according  to  the  largeness  of 
the  differences  existing,  but  according  to  the  smallness 
of  them.  With  reference  to  the  subject  we  are  consid- 
ering, the  distinction  between  Lutheran  and  Calvinist, 
between  the  Independent  and  the  disciple  of  the  Church 
of  England,  was  even  more  important  than  that  between 
Protestant  and  Catholic. 

Finally,  since  we  are  asking  why  there  was  not  earlier 
a  movement  toward  American  nationality,  it  is  to  be  re- 
membered that  population  was  still  sparse  sparseness  of 
upon  the  Atlantic  shore  ;  that  many  com-  Population, 
munities  were  separated  from  their  nearest  neighbors  by 
bays,  swamps,  and  streams,  by  mountains  or  barren 
lands  ;  that  the  industries  of  the  people  were  as  yet 


6 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


primitive  and  simple,  involving  little  intercourse  with 
distant  points,  while  the  means  of  transport  and  travel 
were  not  much  more  advanced  than  they  had  been  two 
thousand  years  before.  Not  only  does  the  close  contact 
of  population  tend  to  remove  the  prejudices  which  are 
founded  upon  report  and  tradition,  but  from  it  arise 
many  positive  reasons  for  political  association. 

Such  are  the  considerations  which  may  serve  to  ex- 
plain the  absence  of  any  strong  sentiment  of  American 
nationality  prior  to  the  beginning  of  the  quarrel  with 
the  mother  country.  Increasing  resistance  on  the  part 
of  the  colonists  to  what  they  regarded  as  unconstitu- 
tional and  oppressive  taxation,  and  finally  the  actual 
outbreak  of  the  Eevolution,  led  to  the  meeting  of  a 
Continental  Congress.  As  the  war  progressed,  the  ex- 
igencies of  the  struggle  induced  the  people  to  give  the 
Congress  some  part  of  the  powers  of  government ;  but 
The  confeder-  most  that  was  thus  Conceded  was  pain- 
ation  formed,  fully  inadequate  to  the  gigantic  task  of  com- 
bating Great  Britain  in  arms.  Late  in  1777,  Congress 
had  been  educated  by  bitter  experience  up  to  the  point 
of  proposing  to  the  several  States  the  formation  of  a 
permanent  Confederation.  Yet,  notwithstanding  the 
urgent,  the  overwhelming,  reasons  for  at  once  creating 
some  form  of  real  government,  it  required  nearly  three 
years  and  a  half  to  secure  the  ratification  of  the  Arti- 
cles by  all  the  insurgent  States.  It  should  be  said,  how- 
Cession  of  ^cr,  that  this  almost  suicidal  delay  was  in 
Western  lands,  p^j.^  f^et  that  somc  of  the  States 

had  a  vast  extent  of  public  lands  in  the  West  beyond 
the  mountains,  while  others  had  none.*    At  last,  the 

*  The  objections  of  the  States  which,  like  Delaware,  Maryland,  New 
Jersey,  and  others,  had  no  Western  lands,  to  the  adoption  of  the  Arti- 
cles of  Confederation  without  the  cession  of  the  lands  belonging  to  the 
more  favored  States,  were  two :  First,  that  the  latter  States  could  pay 
their  share  of  the  requisitions  of  the  common  government  by  sales  of 


THE  CONFEDERATIOJS-,  1783-87 


7 


cession  of  the  Western  lands  by  individual  States  had 
gone  so  far  as  to  make  it  reasonably  certain  that  the 
whole  would  ultimately  be  accomplished  ;  and  in  March, 
1781,  the  Articles  of  Confederation  were  ratified. 

It  would  not  be  reasonable  to  attribute  much  of  the 
final  result  of  independence  to  this  cause  ;  the  war  was 
nearly  over  ;  Cornwallis  surrendered  at  Yorktown  to  the 
united  armies  of  Washington  and  Eochambeau  in  the 
October  following ;  the  courage  and  the  endurance  of 
the  Americans,  aided  greatly  by  the  alliance  with  France, 
had  already  substantially  achieved  the  victory.  It  is  by 
its  workings  as  the  fundamental  law  of  the  United 
States,  not  in  war,  but  in  peace,  after  the  treaty  of  1783, 
that  the  Confederation  is  to  be  judged.  It  is  here  our 
story  properly  begins.  Not  only  did  the  close  of  the 
war  remove  the  principal  force  which  had  been  making 
for  nationality  ;  there  was  even,  in  some  quarters  and  in 
a  multitude  of  minds,  a  reaction  toward  sep-  j^gactionto 
arate  Statehood.  The  State  governments  ward  separate 
had  a  real  and  vital  existence.  They  were 
well  organized,  with  compulsory  powers.  The  town 
governments  at  the  North,  the  county  governments  at 
the  South,  while  efficiently  securing  local  interests,  were 
held  in  due  subordination.  The  States  dealt  with  the 
really  larger  interests  of  society,  the  care  of  the  peace, 
the  protection  of  person  and  property,  the  domestic  re- 
lations, the  ordinary  course  of  private,  social,  and  indus- 
trial life.  They  had  control  of  the  resources  of  their 
people  as  a  whole  ;  and  they  exercised  complete  com- 
mand over  the  acts  and  lives  of  their  individual  citizens, 
subject  only  to  the  established  principles  of  English  lib- 
land,  instead  of  by  taxes  ;  secondly,  that  the  communities  to  be  founded 
west  of  the  mountains,  upon  the  soil  belonging  to,  say,  Virginia,  would 
become  Virginian  in  political  thought  and  feeling,  and  would  make  them- 
selves the  allies,  on  all  public  questions,  of  the  parent  State, 


8 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


erty.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Confederation,  which  had 
been  made  up  into  the  feeble  resemblance  of  a  nation, 
had  no  real  and  vital  control.  It  had  no  compulsory 
powers  ;  it  could  not  even  protect  itself.  It  stood  for 
nothing  which  the  people  cared  much  about.  Its  func- 
tions were  only  in  the  lowest  degree  beneficent.  It  had 
to  do  mainly  with  debts  and  financial  obligations,  matters 
which  were  wholly  in  the  nature  of  a  burden  upon  the 
people,  and  which  were  associated  with  much  that  was  un- 
pleasant in  the  past.  Even  so,  however,  the  Confedera- 
tion might  have  maintained  itself,  at  least  for  a  while, 
and  have  done  its  work  tolerably  well,  but  for  certain 
specific  defects  of  organization  which  were  soon  made 
manifest. 

The  Articles  of  Confederation  presented  several  points 
of  weakness.  Among  these,  three  were  almost  inevitably 
fatal.  First,  the  government  had  no  power  of  taxation  ; 
but  was  obliged  to  depend  for  its  revenues  wholly  upon 
contributions  by  the  States,  in  response  to  the  requisi- 
tions of  Congress.  Secondly,  the  Confederation  had  no 
adequate  control  of  foreign  commerce.  Thirdly,  the 
Confederation  had  no  power  of  enforcing  its  authority 
by  the  arrest  and  trial  of  oflEending  and  delinquent  indi- 
The  sources  of  viduals  ;  but  was  obliged  to  look  to  the 

weakness,  gtatcs,  as  bodics,  to  asscrt  and  maintain  its 
rights.  A  government  lacking  these  powers  can  scarce- 
ly be  said  to  be  a  government  at  all.  The  Confedera- 
tion, as  instituted,  was  not,  even  in  form,  a  nation,  but 
only  a  league  of  sovereign  states. 

Of  the  three  points  of  weakness  indicated,  the  first 
was  that  which  during  the  few  years  following  came  to 
Lack  of  reve-  manifest  itsclf  most  conspicuously,  though 
nue  powers,  ^^^q  others  could  not  have  failed,  on  fur- 
ther trial,  to  prove  the  source  of  disaster.  It  was  the 
lack  of  any  power  of  taxation  which  brought  the  Con* 


THE  CONFEDERATION,  1783-87 


9 


federation  to  ruin  almost  at  the  start.  The  war  had 
left  a  debt  which  was  very  formidable,  according  to 
the  standards  of  those  days  ;  and  the  recurring  inter- 
est-charges required  a  large  and  constant  income,  in  ad- 
dition to  all  that  was  needed  for  the  support  of  the 
offices  and  services  of  peace.  That  income,  as  the  result 
proved,  and  as  might  have  been  anticipated,  was  not 
to  be  obtained  by  the  system  of  requisitions  upon  the 
States.  Instead  of  responding  cheerfully  and  promptly 
to  the  calls  upon  them,  the  States  vied  with  each  other 
in  delinquency,  each  making  the  delay  of  its  neighbors  to 
pay  their  quotas  an  excuse  for  its  own  tardiness.  Thus 
delinquency  grew  to  be  a  habit,  and  was  almost  es- 
teemed a  virtue.  As  each  State  was  afraid  it  should 
pay  more  than  others,  the  most  backward  set  the  pace 
for  all.  Under  a  thoroughly  false  system,  such  as  this 
was,  it  is  amazing  how  much  meanness  and  selfishness 
will  come  out.  Our  fathers  at  the  close  of  the  Eevolu- 
tionary  War  were  not  an  impoverished  people.  They 
were  able  to  give  all  that  was  demanded  of  them.  It 
chiefly  was  a  bad  political  mechanism  which  set  every 
man  and  every  State  to  evading  obligations  or  procras- 
tinating payments.  During  this  period,  1783-87,  after 
independence  had  been  won,  there  was  little  for  an 
American  to  be  proud  of,  much  to  make  him  ashamed.  * 
Two  things,  however,  should  be  said  in  explanation 
of,  and  partial  excuse  for,  the  conduct  of  Expiana- 
our  fathers.   One  was  that  the  Confederation         of  the 

states  delin- 

was  not  the  every-day  government  of  the  peo-  quency. 
pie.    The  States  provided  for  the  common  interests  of 

*  From  the  1st  of  November,  1781,  to  the  1st  of  January,  1786,  less 
than  two  and  a  half  millions  of  dollars  had  been  received  from  the  re- 
qiiisifcions,  made  during  that  period,  amounting  to  more  than  ten  millions. 
For  the  last  fourteen  months  the  receipts  from  requisitions  amounted 
to  no  more  than  four  hundred  thousand  dollars,  which  was  less  than  the 
interest  due  on  the  foreign  debt  alone. 


10 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


life,  for  the  care  of  the  peace,  the  preservation  of  prop- 
erty, the  protection  of  the  home  and  of  the  domestic  re- 
lations, the  building  of  highways  and  bridges,  the  sup- 
port of  schools.  To  the  States,  then,  the  Americans  of 
this  period  felt  that  they  owed  their  first  obligations. 
Those  obligations,  especially  as  the  States  had  the  power 
of  direct  individual  taxation,  to  be  enforced  if  necessary 
by  bringing  the  delinquents  into  court,  were  on  the 
whole  cheerfully  met.  On  the  other  hand,  the  people 
encountered  the  Federal  Government  at  few  points  ; 
they  knew  it  mainly  as  the  authority  having  control  of 
relations  with  foreign  nations. 

The  other  thing  which  requires  to  be  said,  in  ex- 
planation of  the  backwardness  to  honor  the  requisitions 
of  the  new  Congress,  is  that  these  demands  were  mainly 
made  for  the  purpose  of  paying  the  war  debts  of  the 
Eevolution.  In  communities  which  are  still  in  a  primi- 
tive financial  and  industrial  state,  nothing  tries  men^s 
honesty  so  much  as  the  payment  of  debt.  Where  one 
man  will  steal,  many  will,  unless  brought  up  by  the  law, 
do  what  is  little  better  than  stealing,  in  order  to  avoid 
or  procrastinate  the  payment  of  indisputable  obligations. 
When  money  has  been  had  and  spent,  when  the  object 
for  which  it  was  borrowed  has  already  been  enjoyed, 
there  are  few  who  do  not  instinctively  grudge  to  pay  it 
back.  It  almost  seems  as  though  a  wrong  was  being 
done  to  require  them  to  forego  present  enjoyment,  per- 
haps the  comforts  of  life,  to  make  good  a  transaction  of 
the  past.  It  is,  however,  not  private  but  public  debts 
which  bring  the  hardest  strain  upon  the  virtue  of  a  peo- 
ple. Long  after  a  community  has  been  educated  up  to 
Indisposition  point  of  paying  individual  debts  prompt- 
to  pay  debts,  j^g  nienibers  will  shrink  from  the  burden 
of  providing  for  the  payment  of  obligations  contracted 
for  general  uses,  of  which  they  have  individually  had  no 


THE  CONFEDERATION,  1783-87 


11 


enjoyment ;  no  part  of  the  consideration  for  which  has 
passed  through  their  own  hands.  We  have  seen  abun- 
dant instances  of  this  in  our  own  day ;  yet  the  Ameri- 
cans of  the  last  century  were  far  behind  those  of  the 
present  age  in  the  matter  of  political  and  financial  edu- 
cation. They  had,  indeed,  been  brought  up  in  a  very 
bad  school,  so  far  as  this  matter  was  concerned.  Al- 
most all  the  colonies  had  indulged  in  paper-money  is- 
sues of  the  worst  character.  The  people  had  been  ac- 
customed to  see  public  credit  depreciated  and  the  notes 
of  their  commonwealths  at  a  discount,  if  not,  indeed, 
treated  as  worthless  rags.    Some  of  the  colonies  had 

run  a  rig  of  paper  money  inflation  which  had  bor- 
dered on  madness.  During  the  Eevolution  the  ex- 
igencies of  the  general  treasury  had  seemed  to  require 
issues  of  continental  currency, which  rose  by  millions 
until  the  officers  who  put  it  out  ceased  to  keep  a  record 
of  the  amount ;  and  its  value  sank  to  a  point  where  it 
almost  took  a  wagon-load  of  money  to  buy  a  wagon- 
load  of  provisions.  It  is  not  altogether  strange  that  a 
people  with  such  an  experience  should  be  reluctant  to 
contribute  toward  the  payment  of  the  foreign  and  do- 
mestic creditors  who  had  furnished  the  means  of  carry- 
ing on  a  war  which  was  ended  and  over. 

But  however  we  may  explain  or  excuse  the  delays  of 
the  States  in  answering  the  requisitions  of  the  Congress 
of  the  Confederation,  the  fact  of  such  delay  made  the 
maintenance  of  the  new  government  impossible.  That 
government  began  its  career  without  resources  or  credit ; 
and  every  day  sank  lower  and  lower  into  the  abyss  of 
bankruptcy.  The  volume  of  the  public  debt  Embarrass- 
was  continually  swelling,  under  accretions  of  con^fe^d era- 
unpaid  interest ;  and  at  last  even  the  means 
of  carrying  on  the  public  service  were  wanting.  In 
1781,  and  again  in  1783,  Congress  proposed  to  the 


12  THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


States  the  adoption  *  of  a  revenue  system,  under  which 
it  should  have  power  to  levy  customs  duties  for  its  own 
support.  This  system  was  not  adopted  ;  but  the  discus- 
sion of  the  proposition  paved  the  way  for  the  reform  of 
the  government. 

The  embarrassments  of  the  Confederation  were  not 
wholly  financial.  Though  the  Congress  was,  by  the  Ar- 
ticles of  1781,  empowered  to  settle  disputes  between  the 
States  as  to  boundary,  and  to  make  treaties  of  commerce 
with  foreign  countries,  its  authority  might  be  denied. 
and  defied  with  impunity  by  any  State  which  felt  itself 

states  defy  ^gg^i^^^^*  l'^S4:  the  residents  of  Eastern 
the  confeder-  Tennesscc,  which  then  belonged  to  North 
ate  authority.  q^j,qI[j^^^  angered  by  the  action  of  that  State 
in  regard  to  the  cession  of  its  Western  lands,  under- 
took, in  conjunction  with  a  section  of  Virginia,  to  set 
up  a  State  under  the  name  of  Franklin  or  Frankland. 
In  1786  a  convention  met  at  Portland  to  effect  the  sepa- 
ration of  the  district  of  Maine  from  the  State  of  Massa- 
chusetts. Other  instances  amounting  to  little  less  than 
flat  rebellion  occurred.  The  decisions  of  Congress  were 
treated  as  of  no  account.  Even  the  provisions  of  the 
treaty  of  peace  with  Great  Britain  could  not  be  carried 
out  because  individual  States  refused  to  allow  the  pay- 
ment of  English  creditors  and  the  restoration  of  the  con- 
fiscated estates  of  American  loyalists  ; and  England 
kept  possession  of  some  of  the  Western  posts  as  a  means 
of  compelling  the  United  States  to  comply  with  its 
promises  :  a  condition,  surely,  of  great  humiliation  ! 

Meanwhile  the  country  had  been  suffering  continual 
loss  in  its  trade  and  industry  through  the  lack  of  ade- 
quate powers  to  regulate  commerce.  The  Articles  of 
Confederation  reserved  to  the  States  the  right  of  laying 

*  Unanimous  consent  to  a  measure  of  this  character  was  necessary 
under  the  articles  of  Confederation. 


THE  CONFEDERATIOISr,  1783-87  13 


duties  on  imports^  excepting  such  as  would  interfere  with 
any  treaties  that  might  be  made  pursuant  to  the  treaties 
proposed  to  France  and  Spain.  As  a  result  Lack  of 
of  this,  any  State  could,  for  itself,  practically  Tiafe^^Jm-" 
nullify  any  treaty  which  Congress  might  en- 
ter  into  with  foreign  countries.  A  striking  example  of 
the  evil  effect  of  this  appears  in  the  almost  total  fail- 
ure of  the  efforts  made  by  the  Confederation,  in  1784 
and  the  following  year,  to  frame  advantageous  treaties 
of  commerce  with  the  nations  of  Europe.  A  spe- 
cial commission,  consisting  of  three  most  distinguished 
citizens — John  Adams,  Benjamin  Franklin,  and  Thom- 
as Jefferson — was  appointed  for  this  purpose  ;  but  of 
the  fifteen  governments  approached,  only  one,  and  that 
a  country  of  little  commercial  importance,  Prussia, 
thought  it  worth  while  to  go  to  the  trouble  of  making  a 
treaty  with  a  country  which  could  not  enforce  it. 

In  such  a  situation  as  has  thus  been  described,  it  was 
inevitable  that  Congress  should  fall  off  rapidly,  both  in 
the  character  of  its  members  and  in  its  repu-  Decline  of 
tation  and  authority  among  the  people ;  and  congress, 
this  in  turn  reacted  to  increase  the  weakness  of  the 
Government.  The  Continental  Congress  had  at  the  be- 
ginning been  a  most  illustrious  body  ;  but,  as  the  war 
went  on,  its  membership  steadily  declined.  Some  went 
into  the  military  service  ;  some  returned  to  their  States 
and  became  governors  or  legislators  ;  some,  and  those 
among  the  ablest,  were  sent  abroad  as  ministers  to  foreign 
countries  ;  some  States  withdrew  the  whole  or  a  greater 
part  of  their  delegations  from  motives  of  economy  or  from 
lack  of  interest,  until,  in  the  later  part  of  the  war.  Con- 
gress became  a  very  inferior  body,  at  times  almost  de- 
serving the  designation  of  a  Eump.  The  Articles  of 
Confederation  required  the  assent  of  nine  States  in  Con- 
gress to  all  matters  of  principal  importance,  and  of  seven 


14 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


States  to  all  other  matters  except  adjournment.  Al- 
though a  full  Congress  would  have  consisted  of  nig^ty- 
one  members,  only  twenty  or  even  fifteen  members  were 
at  times  present,  perhaps  from  seven,  perhaps  from  only 
five.  States.  Washington's  resignation  was  received  by 
a  body  of  twenty  members,  representing  seven  States. 
The  States  voted  as  bodies,  and  as  equal  bodies,  in  the 
single  house  which  was  provided  for  by  the  Articles  of 
1781  ;  and  much  of  the  dignity  and  authority  belonging 
to  a  representative  who  speaks  and  votes  in  his  own 
right  and  name  was  thereby  lost.  Men  of  character 
and  infiuence  found  little  to  attract  them ;  and  pre- 
ferred public  service  at  home.  The  delegates  were 
poorly  and  irregularly  paid  by  the  States  which  sent 
them.  At  times  Congress  was  obliged  for  weeks  to 
await  the  arrival  of  a  sufficient  number  of  delegates  to 
transact  business.  Even  the  ratification  of  the  Treaty 
of  Peace  was  delayed  by  lack  of  a  quorum.  Poor  as  it 
was  in  its  membership,  the  government  of  the  Con- 
federation had  not  even  a  fixed  seat ;  and  Congress  went 
from  city  to  city,  a  vagrant  body,  commanding  less  and 
less  respect  with  each  migration. 

Finally  domestic  violence  began  to  threaten  the  new 
nation.    In  addition  to  the  selfish  and  malignant  forces 
Social  die   ^■'^^^^  couutrics  ^Iways  ready  to 

tnrbance  due  break  the  bouuds  of  law,  if  not  held  in 

to  Revolution-     i      i    i  ,  it, 

ary  paper  checK  by  a  stroug  and  resolute  government, 
money.  there  were  special  causes  of  disorder  in 
the  situation  of  the  United  States  at  this  time.  The 
war,  especially  through  the  pernicious  agency  of  an  ir- 
redeemable and  rapidly  depreciating  paper  money,  had 
effected  an  enormous  disturbance  in  the  distribution 
of  wealth.  Every  time  the  value  of  money  changed,  a 
certain  amount  of  wealth  was  thrown,  unearned,  into 
the  hands  of  the  trading  and  speculative,  at  the  cost  of 


THE  CONFEDERATION,  1783-87  15 

the  productive,  classes  ;  into  the  hands  of  those  already 
rich,  at  the  expense  of  those  less  favored  by  fortune. 
Any  man  of  nerve  can  pick  up  a  live  coal  and  throw  it 
into  the  fire  without  pain.  This  is  because  he  holds  it 
only  a  fraction  of  a  second.  Let  him  retain  it  a  little 
longer  and  he  will  be  burned  to  the  bone.  So  it  always 
is  with  depreciating  paper  money.  *  Those  who  are  in  a 
position  of  advantage,  who  have  means  to  pay  with,  who 
are  close  to  the  market,  who  are  dealing  largely,  who  have 
abundant  and  often  secret  opportunities  of  securing  in- 
formation, all  these  gain.  On  the  other  hand,  the  poor, 
the  ignorant,  those  who  have  not  capital  and  cannot 
readily  command  credit,  those  who  deal  only  on  a  small 
scale  and  at  irregular  intervals,  those  who  are  at  a  dis- 
tance from  the  market,  those  who  buy  raw  materials  for 
the  manufacture  of  goods  which  will  not  be  ready  to  be 
sold  for  weeks  or  months  to  come — all  these  classes  lose 
and  lose  every  time.  The  fluctuations  of  the  Conti- 
nental currency  during  the  first  few  years  of  the  war 
had  been  extreme  ;  its  discredit  at  the  end  became  total. 
There  were  those  whose  farms  were  deeply  mortgaged 
and  who  yet  had  in  their  attics  boxes  full  of  paper 
money ;  while  those  who  had  bought  cattle,  grain,  and 
provisions,  to  sell  them  to  the  army,  and  had  quickly 
turned  the  funds  into  houses  and  lands,  or  into  mort- 
gages on  houses  and  lands,  had  become  rich.  A  vulgar 
aristocracy,  such  as  is  always  created  by  a  paper-money 
era,  fiourished  under  the  public  eye,  while  names  which 
had  been  honored  throughout  colonial  history  disap- 
peared through  a  poverty  which  had  come  without  blame, 
perhaps  only  through  trusting  the  government  too  readily 
in  its  hour  of  need.  In  addition  to  all  that  was  involved 
in  this  state  of  things,  the  close  of  the  war  itself  brought 
distress,  in  the  immediate  instance,  to  many.  The 
farmers  missed  the  market  for  their  produce  which  the 


16 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


army  had  afforded.  The  soldiers  thrown  out  of  service 
could  not  readily  find  employment  and  remained  too 
often  discontented  and  dangerous  men.  One  class  pros- 
pered ;  but  its  good  fortune  was  at  the  expense  of  the 
general  welfare ;  and  in  time  excited  envy  and  animos- 
ity. These  were  the  lawyers^  who  flourished  on  the 
multiplicity  of  suits  growing  out  of  the  extensive  trans- 
fer of  values  and  the  general  unsettlement  of  society. 

Such  a  condition  was  most  unfortunate  and  deeply  to 
be  regretted.  It  would  not  have  been  dangerous  but  for 
a  vicious  political  organization.  As  things  were  in 
1783-87,  it  was  possible  that  the  elements  of  disorder 
and  violence  in  a  group  of  States  might  at  any  time  con- 
front the  military  and  political  forces  of  one  State  *  of 
that  group.  For  example,  if  resistance  to  the  law  were 
to  break  out  in  Massachusetts,  the  discontented  classes 
of  all  New  England  might  pour  into  that  State,  con- 
fident that  they  would  have  to  deal  with  its  power  alone. 
This  was,  in  fact,  what  occurred  in  the  latter  part  of 
1786.  Under  the  leadership  of  Daniel  Shays,  formerly 
Shays's  Re-  ^  Captain  in  the  Continental  Army,  those  in 
M^^ssachu^  Worcester  County  and  in  AVestern  Massachu- 
setts, gg^^g  fgi^  themselves  wronged  by  suits 
at  law,  and  by  the  foreclosure  of  mortgages  of  which  the 
depreciated  paper-money  of  the  Eevolutionary  govern- 
ment had  been  the  real  cause,  gathered  together,  with  the 
purpose  of  closing  the  courts  which  had  especial  juris- 
diction in  their  cases.  With  the  ordinary  operation  of 
the  courts,  in  the  preservation  of  the  peace  and  the  pro- 
tection of  life  and  person,  they  did  not  wish  to  interfere  ; 
but  they  mistakenly  believed  that  by  unlawful  violence 

*  In  the  convention  which  framed  the  Constitution  it  was  very  early 
declared  that  the  Confederation  had  neither  constitutional  power  nor 
means  to  interfere  in  the  case  of  a  rebellion  in  any  State." — Curtis,  His- 
tory of  the  Constitution. 


THE  CONFEDERATION,  1783-87 


17 


they  could  undo  some  part  of  the  injustice  which  had 
been  wrought  by  unsound  and  pernicious  financial  condi- 
tions. The  insurgents  were  largely,  at  least  in  the  first 
instance,  sober,  decent,  and  industrious  men,  wrought 
to  madness  by  what  they  deemed  their  wrongs ;  but  they 
were,  of  course,  joined  by  the  idle,  the  dissipated,  the 
discontented,  the  destructive  classes,  as  the  insurrection 
grew.  The  insurgents  complained,  not  merely  of  the 
enforcement  of  payment  in  case  of  debts  contracted  in 
continental  currency,  and  of  the  foreclosure  of  mortgages 
due  to  the  same  cause,  but  of  the  excessive  cost  of  the 
collection  of  debts,  fattening  the  legal  profession  at  the 
expense  of  the  debtor  class,  and  of  the  scarcity  of  money 
in  which  to  make  the  payments  required,  even  where 
sufiicient  property  for  the  purpose  existed.  These  last 
complaints  the  General  Court  had  sought  to  remove,  at 
a  previous  session,  by  reducing  the  legal  fees  and  by 
allowing  payments  of  tax-arrears  and  of  private  debts  in 
certain  articles  of  produce  at  specified  prices.  But  the 
discontent  had  become  too  deep  to  be  appeased. 

In  December,  Shays,  at  the  head  of  an  armed  force, 
prevented  the  sitting  of  the  Supreme  Court  at  Worces- 
ter ;  and,  a  few  days  later,  repeated  the  same  acts  of 
violence  in  Springfield.  At  the  latter  point  the  gath- 
ering of  the  insurgents  menaced  society  with  a  new 
danger,  since  the  United  States  arsenal  was  then,  as 
now,  situated  in  Springfield,  and  though  Shays^s  fol- 
lowers had  manifested  no  intention  of  destroying  the 
State  government  or  of  proceeding  further  than  to  arrest 
the  action  of  the  courts  in  issuing  executions  for  debts 
and  in  foreclosing  mortgages,  it  was  impossible  to  fore- 
see to  what  extremities  they  might  not  proceed,  should 
they  secure  an  abundant  supply  of  arms.  In  view  of 
the  threatening  state  of  things.  Congress  had  already, 
under  pretence  of  making  war  upon  the  Northwestern 
0 


18 


THE  MAKII^G  OF  THE  NATIOK 


Indians,  voted  to  enlist  a  considerable  force  and  had 
made  a  special  requisition  for  funds  ;  but  the  inter- 
vention of  the  Federal  government  was  certain  to  be 
too  tardy  for  the  emergency.  The  threatened  common- 
wealth was  saved  by  the  promptness  and  energy  of  its 
chief  executive,  and  the  public  spirit  of  a  few  citizens 
who  contributed  the  necessary  funds  out  of  their  own 
means  and  at  their  own  risk.  Governor  Bowdoin  at 
once  called  out  the  militia  of  Eastern  Massachusetts, 
under  the  command  of  General  Benjamin  Lincoln,  a' 
distinguished  veteran  of  the  Eevolution.  These  troops 
promptly  marched,  in  the  depth  of  a  severe  winter,  to 
the  relief  of  the  beleaguered  garrison.  Before  they 
The  Rebeiuon  arrived  the  insurgents  had  been  repulsed 
put  down,  y^iiii  some  loss  of  life ;  and  the  approach  of 
the  relieving  force  caused  them  to  withdraw  to  a  more 
difficult  country.  By  the  rapid  movements  of  Gen- 
eral Lincoln  the  rebels  were  finally  broken  up  and  dis- 
persed. 

While  Massachusetts  was  thus  struggling  for  its  life 
with  armed  insurgents,  other  communities  were  being 
rapidly  drawn  toward  the  fatal  vortex  of  inconvertible 
paper-money.  A  fresh  craze  for  this  delusive  resort. 
New  paper-  this  alcohol  of  Commerce, broke  out  in 
money  craze.  1785-86,  and  soon  infected  a  majority  of  the 
States.  All  the  teachings  of  the  past  seemed  to  have 
been  forgotten  ;  and  one  commonwealth  after  another 
took  the  plunge  into  the  abyss  of  discredit  and  dishonor. 
In  some  States  the  new  paper-money  was  not  made  a 
legal  tender  ;  in  some,  its  acceptance  was  compulsory  ; 
in  others,  still,  it  was  sought  to  give  the  notes  currency 
by  means  of  physical  violence  or  of  boycotts  (to  use 
a  modern  phrase)  directed  against  those  who  should  de- 
cline to  receive  them.  But,  whatever  form  the  issues 
took,  there  could  possibly  be  but  one  end  for  them  all, 


THE  CONFEDERATION,  1783^87 


19 


unless  some  superior  authority  should  be  established 
which  could  curb  this  delusive  and  destructive  passion. 

Shays^s  rebellion  and  the  paper-money  craze  of  1785-86 
completed  the  demonstration  of  the  entire  insufficiency 
of  the  Confederation  under  the  Articles  of  1781.  The 
leaders  of  political  opinion^  the  statesmen  of  that  period, 
had  not  waited  so  long  to  be  of  the  opinion  that  some- 
thing must  be  done  if  the  States  which  together  had  won 
independence  were  to  remain  in  concord  and  union.  In 
1785  Governor  Bowdoin  suggested  the  appointment  of 
delegates  from  the  several  States,  to  settle  and  define 
the  powers  with  which  Congress  should  be  invested ; 
but,  the  representatives  from  Massachusetts  not  con- 
curring in  this  proposal,  it  was  not  submitted  to  Con- 
gress. Virginia  was  more  active  in  the  work  of  re- 
form. That  State,  having  been  in  controversy  with 
Maryland  over  the  navigation  of  the  Chesapeake  and 
the  Potomac,  appointed  commissioners  to  confer  with 
representatives  of  the  latter  State  regarding  their  con- 
flicting rights.  This  negotiation  failed ;  but  it  led  to  an 
invitation  given  by  Virginia,  in  January,  1786,  to  all 
the  States  to  meet  in  convention,  to  decide  upon  the 
commercial  relations  of  the  country.  Twelve  States  had 
already  agreed  to  the  proposed  revenue  system  of  1783  ; 
but  the  hostile  action  of  New  York  killed  the  measure. 
That  State,  however,  while  refusing  to  assent  to  this 
scheme,  sent  delegates,  foremost  among  them  Alexan- 
der Hamilton,  to  the  convention,  which  was  held  at 
Annapolis,  in  September,  1786.  The  convention  itself 
was  a  failure,  since  only  New  York,  New  Jer-  The  Annap- 
sey,  Delaware,  Pennsylvania,  and  Virginia  oUs  conven- 
were  represented  ;  but  it  opened  the  way  to 
a  larger  success  than  had  even  been  in  contemplation. 
That  very  failure  showed  the  uselessness  of  any  effort 
short  of  a  general  constitutional  convention.    The  dele- 


20  THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


gates  to  Annapolis  departed  after  addressing  Congress  in 
terms,  drawn  by  Hamilton,  which  induced  that  body  to 
call  a  convention  of  the  States,  to  meet  at  Philadelphia 
in  May,  1787,  ^^for  the  sole  and  express  purpose  of  revis- 
ing the  Articles  of  Confederation/^  So  desperate  had 
the  situation  become,  that  the  call  of  Congress  was  not 
unheeded,  although  one  of  the  States  was  not  represented, 
and  the  delegates  came  with  very  different  minds  as  to 
what  could  and  should  be  done.  It  is  the  proceedings 
of  the  body  thus  assembled,  the  Constitutional  Conven- 
tion of  1787,  which  is  to  form  the  subject  of  our  next 
chapter.  Only  one  word  more  remains  to  be  said. 
While  the  career  of  the  Confederation  had  been  a  most 
unhappy  one,  its  existence  had  not  been  wholly  without 
results  of  good.  It  had  bridged  over  th^  interval  till  the 
people  should  be  ready  to  establish  a  real  and  effective 
government ;  it  had  kept  the  idea  of  American  nation- 
ality before  the  minds  of  all ;  and  its  very  misfortunes 
and  calamities  had  served  to  convince  the  country  that 
something  more  must  be  done  to  secure  the  union  of  the 
States  which  had  together  won  their  independence. 


CHAPTER  II 


THE  CONSTITUTIONAL  CONVENTION  OP  1787 

The  Convention  meets  May  14th — Absence  of  Rhode  Island — Del- 
egates Appointed,  62 — Number  Attending  at  any  Time,  55 — 
Number  Signing  the  Constitution,  39 — Eminent  Character  of 
the  State  Delegations — Respective  Contributions  of  Different 
Classes  of  Delegates — The  Party  of  Obstruction — The  Leading 
Spirits  of  the  Convention — Doubts  as  to  a  Successful  Result — 
Views  Held  as  to  the  Relations  between  the  Confederation  and 
the  States — The  Three  dominating  Issues  of  the  Convention  — A 
Federal  or  a  National  Government — Equal  or  Proportional 
Representation  of  the  States — Representation  on  Account  of 
Slaves — Results  on  these  Issues — The  Work  of  the  Committee 
on  Detail  Introduces  Three  New  Issues — Taxation  of  Exports 
— The  Slave  trade — Two-thirds  Vote  on  Navigation  Acts — Ex- 
tensive Disaffection  of  Delegates — Withdrawal  of  Some — Adop- 
tion of  the  Constitution — Nine  States  Sufficient  for  Ratification 
— This  Measure  Revolutionary — The  Whole  Work  of  the  Con- 
vention Revolutionary — Called  to  Amend  the  Articles  of  Con- 
federation, it  Throws  them  Over  at  the  Beginning — Impossi- 
bility of  Deriving  the  Constitution  Legitimately  from  Either 
the  Confederation  or  the  Revolutionary  Congress — The  Ordi- 
nance of  1787  among  the  Closing  Acts  of  the  Congress  of  the 
Confederation — Importance  of  this  Measure. 

The  Convention  met  on  May  14th  ;  but  there  were 
not,  on  that  day,  delegates  present  from  a  majority  of 
the  States.  Ehode  Island  was  not  represent-  Absence  of 
ed  then  or  at  any  stage  of  the  Convention  ;  ^om  the  con^ 
but  its  Governor  sent  an  address  urging  the  mention. 
Convention  to  consider  the  interests  and  rights  of  that 
State  in  their  deliberations,  and  holding  out  hopes  that 
it  would  join  the  movement  at  a  later  period.    The  ab- 


22 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


sence  of  Eliode  Island  lias  generally  been  explained  by 
the  domination  of  the  paper-money  party  in  the  Legisla- 
ture. Of  all  the  offenders  in  the  matter  of  paper-issues 
before  the  Kevolution,  Rhode  Island  had  easily  been  the 
worst ;  and  the  passion  for  bad  money  thus  created  had 
not  lost  its  hold  upon  the  public  mind.  'Now,  if  any- 
thing was  certain  in  regard  to  a  new  Constitution,  it  was 
that  it  would  prohibit  paper-money  issues  by  the  States. 
Other  and  perhaps  equally  valid  explanations  of  Rhode 
Island^s  absence  from  the  Constitutional  Convention 
have,  however,  been  given.*  From  New  Hampshire 
delegates  did  not  arrive  till  July  23d  ;  but  by  May  25th, 
a  quorum,  that  is,  at  least  two  delegates  from  each  of  a 
majority  of  the  thirteen  States,  had  been  obtained ;  and 
the  Convention  proceeded  to  its  immensely  important 
business.  That  business  was  in  form,  that  is,  according 
to  the  call,  a  revision  of  the  Articles  of  Confederation  of 
1781  ;  but  only  the  briefest  time  elapsed  before  it  was 
clearly  seen  that,  if  the  Convention  was  to  accomplish 
anything  at  all,  it  would  be  not  through  revision,  but 
through  the  adoption  of  a  substantially  new  form  of 
government.  The  Articles  of  Confederation  had  been 
too  conclusively  found  wanting,  to  make  any  change  in 
them,  however  extensive,  satisfactory. 

The  total  number  of  delegates,  by  all  the  States  ap- 
pointed, was  62.    Of  these,  however,  only  55  were  at 
^     ,       any  time,  earlier  or  later,  in  attendance.  In 
ship  of  the  the  final  result  only  39  members  signed  the 

Convention.  •      .  •  . 

Constitution.  In  its  membership  the  Con- 
vention was  a  noble  body,  recalling  the  early  days  of  the 
Revolutionary  Congress.  After  the  unhappy  experi- 
ences of  the  Congress  of  the  Confederation,  through  so 
many  years,  this  change  was  indeed  refreshing,  and  gave 

*  See  a  very  able  paper  read  before  the  Rhode  Island  Historical  Soci- 
ety, in  1890,  by  Hon.  Horatio  Rogers. 


THE  COISrSTITUTIONAL  CONVENTIOlSr  OF  1787  23 


at  least  the  hope  of  doing  something.  No  commonplace 
gathering  of  second-rate  men  would  have  had  the  slight- 
est chance  of  carrying  the  country  with  them  in  any- 
thing which  they  might  propose. 

The  contributions  which  the  several  members  of  the 
Convention  were  destined  to  make  to  the  successful  re- 
sult of  its  deliberations  and  decisions  were  contribu- 
very  different.  Some  stood,  first,  foremost,  ci^ssif^Jf 
and  always,  for  union — for  union  in  spite  of  delegates, 
obstacles  ;  for  union  in  defiance  of  State  rights  and  local 
interests  ;  for  union  under  almost  any  form,  provided 
only  a  strong  and  self-supporting  government  should  be 
created.  This  was  their  contribution  :  zeal  for  union, 
devotion  to  the  prime  object  of  the  Convention.  Some 
of  these  delegates  enjoyed  the  advantage  of  skill  in  de- 
bate, persuasive  discourse,  and  fiery  eloquence.  Others 
made  their  influence  felt  mainly  in  personal  conference 
and  in  the  spirit  with  which,  simply  as  voting  members, 
they  met  and  rose  over  the  successive  obstacles  which  for 
the  time  stopped  the  work  of  the  Convention  or  threat- 
ened its  dissolution.  Others  there  were  whose  qualities 
of  mind  and  temper  fitted  them  especially  to  contribute 
to  a  fortunate  result  through  the  analysis  of  methods 
and  details.  A  few  were  jurists  and  publicists,  widely 
read  in  constitutional  history  and  of  a  learning  and  in- 
tellectual power  to  lift  discussion,  at  critical  points,  out 
of  the  common  and  the  vulgar,  up  to  high  planes  of 
statesmanship.  Some  contributed  through  prestige,  de- 
rived from  services  in  peace  and  in  war,  lending  dig- 
nity and  authority  to  the  cause  of  union,  both  within 
and  without  the  Convention,  whether  or  not  they  were 
adroit  in  debate,  or  learned  in  political  history,  or  pow- 
erful in  appeal.  Some  contributed  by  parliamentary 
skill  and  tact,  knowing  how  to  avoid  difficulties ;  how 
to  pass  around  obstacles  ;  how  to  conciliate  opposition  ; 


24 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


when  to  yield  and  when  to  press  vigorously  for  an  ad- 
vantage. All  were  needed  ;  without  the  help  of  any  one 
we  cannot  confidently  say  that  the  Convention  would^ 
in  the  final  result^  have  proposed  the  Constitution. 

A  few  there  were  whose  part  was  a  less  gracious  one, 
that,  namely,  of  making  objections ;  of  insisting  upon 
The  party  concessions  to  State  prejudices  and  to  local 
of^obstruc-  interests  ;  of  seeming  to  be  ready,  perhaps  of 
being  ready,  to  abandon  the  entire  object  of 
the  Convention  rather  than  that  certain  results  should 
not  be  secured.  We  will  not  liken  them  to  the  false 
mother  in  the  story  of  Solomon^s  judgment.  Perhaps, 
had  they  not  made  these  issues  in  the  Convention,  the 
work  of  the  Convention  would  have  been  defeated  before 
the  people  by  the  very  prejudices  and  interests  which 
they  represented.  But  it  is  at  least  allowable  to  say  that 
the  spirit  of  the  true  mother  in  that  beautiful  tale  ani- 
mated not  a  few  noble  souls  :  rather  than  that  the  life  ^ 
they  loved  should  be  sacrificed,  they  were  ready  to  make 
any  concession,  to  mortify  their  own  pride,  to  surrender 
their  cherished  views  and  purposes,  and  to  yield  the 
guardianship  of  the  nation  to  other  hands. 

First  among  the  delegates  must  be  named  George 
Washington.  Unskilled  in  debate,  destitute  of  juri- 
Washington  dical  and  historical  learning,  he  yet  stood 
and  Franklin,  j^^Q  time  for  uuion,  for  union  somehow, 
for  union  anyhow  ;  and  the  splendor  of  his  fame  shone 
through  the  Convention  and  over  the  whole  land,  giving 
hope  amid  the  deepest  despondency.  Benjamin  Frank- 
lin, too,  was  there,  infirm  in  body  and  nearly  past  the 
time  of  public  usefulness,  but  still  holding  authority  by 
virtue  of  his  great  services.  The  measures  he  proposed 
were  of  comparatively  little  value  ;  listened  to  rather 
from  respect  to  the  man  than  from  concurrence  with  his 
views  ;  but  his  presence,  his  prudence,  and  his  devotion 


THE  CONSTITUTIONAL  CONVENTION  OF  1787  25 


to  the  larger  interests  of  the  country  were  a  constant 
force  in  the  Convention.  Not  only  did  Dr.  Franklin  ex- 
ert a  strong  influence  through  his  zeal  for  union  ;  but 
his  thoroughly  democratic  sentiments  were  of  excellent 
effect,  as  opposed  to  the  decidedly  aristocratic  tendencies 
of  many  members.  *  The  American  of  to-day  is  amazed 
to  read  in  Madison^'s  Journal  the  frank  expression  of 
opinions  hostile  to  popular  suffrage,  distrust  of  the  peo- 
ple, and  even  imputations  against  the  honesty  and  pa- 
triotism of  the  country.  The  history  of  the  nation  has 
shown  that  the  aged  philosopher  was  more  nearly  right 
in  his  estimate  of  the  virtue  and  public  spirit  of  the 
American  people  than  were  his  more  conservative  col- 
leagues. With  Washington  and  Franklin  was  another 
of  the  noble  group  of  five,  who,  in  1776,  laid  upon  the 
table  of  the  President  of  Congress  the  Declaration  of  In- 
dependence, viz.,  Eoger  Sherman,  of  Connecticut,  de- 
voted to  the  cause  of  union,  though  perhaps  too  persist- 
ent at  times  in  presenting  objections  to  the  wishes  of 
the  majority  of  the  Convention.  Among  those  who  con- 
tributed most  through  juridical  and  historical  knowl- 
edge, or  through  long  experience  in  public  affairs,  were 
George  Mason  and  James  Madison,  of  Virginia  ;  Eufus 
King,  of  Massachusetts ;  James  Wilson,  of  Pennsylvania ; 
Oliver  Ellsworth,  of  Connecticut. 

But  amid  that  brilliant  assemblage  one  spirit  burned 
with  a  fire  surpassing  all  in  its  zeal  for  union.  Alexan- 
der Hamilton,  of  New  York,  had  been  for  Alexander 
many  years  the  most  conspicuous  advocate  Hamilton, 
of  a  strong  and  efficient  government  for  the  insurgent, 

^The  proposition  was  even  made,  and  was  strenuously  supported, 
that  wealth  should  be  the  basis  of  representation  in  the  Senate.  Let 
the  reader  try  to  imagine  anyone  daring  to  make  such  a  proposal  in 
this  day.  For  a  time,  the  principle  that  there  should  be  property  quali- 
fications for  the  executive,  the  members  of  the  legislature,  and  the  ju- 
diciary triumphed  in  the  Convention,  though  ultimately  defeated. 


26 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


and  finally  for  the  independent,  States.  Possessed  of  a 
singular  eloquence,  he  had,  since  1780,  labored  by 
speech  and  pen  to  bring  the  American  people  to  appre- 
ciate the  necessity  of  conceding  ample  powers  to  the 
common  Congress.  Upon  his  own  State  he  had  not 
ceased  to  urge  the  grant  of  liberal  rights  of  revenue  ; 
and  he  had  been  foremost  in  the  measures  which  led  to 
the  Annapolis  Convention,  and  subsequently  to  the  Con- 
stitutional Convention  at  Philadelphia.  In  the  latter 
body  his  usefulness,  so  far  as  constructive  details  were, 
concerned,  was  greatly  impaired  by  his  desire  for  a 
more  consolidated  organization  of  the  country  and  a 
more  aristocratic  form  of  government  than  would  have 
met  the  sympathy  of  perhaps  a  single  one  of  his  col- 
leagues, so  that  few  of  his  practical  propositions  were 
adopted  ;  but  his  burning  zeal  for  a  real  and  vital  union 
of  some  kind,  his  eloquence,  and  his  readiness  to  con- 
cede anything  and  everything  to  reach  that  end,  made 
him  an  immense  power  for  good.  Thus,  while  Hamil- 
ton contributed  little  to  the  text  of  the  Constitution,  he 
did  perhaps  as  much  as  any  man  to  give  it  being. 

Among  delegates  from  States  south  of  Virginia  were 
several  men,  notably  Rutledge  and  the  two  Pinckneys, 
who  were  of  the  highest  character  and  abil- 

T  h.  e    e  X  —  . 
treme  South-  ities,  and  of  unquestioned  patriotism  ;  but 
em  delegates.        ^ ^-^^^        thcmsclves  obliged  to  act, 

namely,  that  of  objecting  to  the  progress  of  the  work, 
unless  certain  concessions  should  be  made  to  the  views 
and  interests  peculiar  to  their  constituents,  must  al- 
ways give  them  a  lower  place  and  make  them  less  ro- 
mantic figures  in  the  history  of  the  Convention  of  1787. 
Perhaps  the  part  they  played  was  as  necessary  as  that  of 
others  who  were  unconditionally  for  union  ;  certainly 
we  have  no  right  to  impute  selfish  or  sinister  motives  to 
them.     Still,  if  that  part  was  necessary,  it  was  not 


THE  CONSTITUTIONAL  CONVENTION  OF  1787  27 


heroic  ;  and  lias  not  aroused  in  the  American  people  the 
same  gratitude  as  has  been  accorded  to  their  colleagues. 

Among  the  members  of  the  Convention  who  took  a 
very  prominent  part  in  its  proceedings  were  three  we 
have  not  mentioned  —  Edmund  Eandolph^ 
of  Virginia  ;  John  Dickinson,  of  Delaware  ;  DfcViiTson! 
and  Luther  Martin,  of  Maryland.  Ean-  ^artm. 
dolph,  as  we  shall  see,  prepared  the  general  plan  of 
government  which  was  in  substance  adopted ;  but  his 
subsequent  course  produced  an  impression  of  vacillation 
and  inconsistency  which  seriously  impaired  the  prestige 
he  might  have  expected  to  derive  from  this  source. 
Dickinson's  part  was  marked  by  such  a  degree  of  con- 
servatism, and  by  so  much  of  what  was  considered, 
whether  rightly  or  wrongly,  a  disposition  to  cavil  and 
find  fault,  that  his  influence  was  deemed  rather  a  bur- 
den than  a  help  to  constructive  work.  Martin,  strong, 
impatient,  and  aggressive  in  disposition,  was  at  several 
stages  foremost  in  opposition  to  what  then  seemed  to  be, 
and  is  now  seen  to  have  been,  essential  to  any  real  prog- 
ress toward  the  union  of  the  States.  In  such  a  body 
as  we  have  described,  there  could  be  but  one  first  choice 
for  president  ;  and  George  Washington,  with  the  im- 
mortal laurels  of  a  patriot  war  carried  to  a  successful 
conclusion  by  his  matchless  resolution,  patriotism,  and 
fidelity,  was  chosen  to  preside  over  its  deliberations. 
•  But  while  the  Convention  was  thus  nobly  constituted, 
and  while  its  members  had  generally,  perhaps  without 
exception,  come  together  desirous  of  framing  a  form  of 
government  which  should  secure  the  continuance  of  an 
American  union ;  and  while  all  probably  were  in  a 
frame  of  mind  to  make  some  concessions  from  ^  J^^^^^^q^^ 
what  they  would  individually  have  desired  ;  suit, 
yet  the  prospect  of  any  considerable  positive  result  was 
not  favorable.    The  questions  at  issue  were  of  the  grav- 


4 


98  THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 

est  nature ;  and  tlie  feelings  and  sentiments  which  drew 
the  delegates  to  one  side  or  the  other  of  these  questions 
were  deeply  founded  and  often  passionately  held. 
There  were  not  a  few  who  were  known  to  regard  their 
positions  on  certain  points  as  of  a  higher  value  than  the 
formation  of  a  new  constitution,  if  not,  indeed,  of  more 
consequence  than  the  continuance  of  union  under  any 
form.  There  were  some  who,  while  willing  fairly  to 
consider  the  schemes  suggested,  had  from  the  start  so 
little  expectation  of  any  successful  result,  that  their  in-- 
fluence  was  almost  the  same  as  if  they  had  desired  a 
failure.  Possibly  some  even  felt  that  it  would  not  be  a 
wholly  unfortunate  outcome  if  the  country  were  com- 
pelled to  drag  itself  along  for  a  few  years  more  under 
the  Articles  of  1781,  bad  as  these  were  and  certain  to  be 
in  time  changed,  rather  than  force  an  issue  at  present 
and  rush  on  to  decisions  which  would  be  irrevocable. 
Altogether  the  mood  of  at  least  a  majority  of  the  Con- 
vention was  unfavorable.  Yet  there  were  among  the 
delegates  some  who  believed  that  it  was  a  case  of  now 
or  never ;  who  burned  with  zeal  to  consummate  a  de- 
finitive union  ;  and  to  this  end  were  ready  to  make  al- 
most any  concession  and  accept  almost  any  plan.  The 
energy  and  devotion  of  these  men  could  not  fail  pro- 
foundly to  move  their  more  sceptical  colleagues.  A 
few  there  were,  and  these  among  the  greatest  intellects 
of  the  Convention,  who  were  fairly  on  fire  with  their 
enthusiasm  and  determination.  These  men  seem,  in 
their  passion  for  union,  to  have  risen  to  the  heights  of 
prophecy,  and  fully  to  have  appreciated  the  momentous 
consequences  of  what  should  there  be  done  in  that 
summer  of  1787,  as  if  they  could  look  down  the  ages  and 
see  the  puissant  nation  which  was  to  rise  out  of  the 
gloom  and  the  confusion  of  the  present ;  but  there  were 
more  who,  whether  because  they  were  commonplace  by 


THE  CONSTITUTIONAL  CONVENTION  OF  1787  29 


nature,  or  because  they  had  been  so  deeply  infected  by 
the  distrust,  doubts,  and  jealousies  of  the  miserable 
period  then  closing,  looked  at  everything  with  the  nar- 
rowest vision,  and  found  it  impossible  to  lift  themselves 
above  sectional  interests  and  personal  prejudices. 

On  the  subject  of  the  relations  of  the  several  States  to 
the  United  States,  there  was  in  the  Convention  a  great 
diversity  of  opinion  ;  but,  in  a  general  way,  three  dis- 
tinct views  may  be  said  to  have  been  held.  First,  that 
the  States  still  remained,  in  spite  of  all  that  had  been 
granted  to  the  Kevolutionary  Congress  for  the  sake  of 
carrying  on  the  war,  and  in  spite  of  all  that  had  been 
conceded  in  the  Articles  of  1781,  sovereign  and  inde- 
pendent States,  of  undiminished  authority  and  competent 
at  any  time  to  resume  the  entire  control  of  their  own  in- 
terests, by  simply  denouncing  the  Articles  of  Confed- 
eration. The  second  view  was  that  which  held  that  the 
course  of  events  during  the  Eevolution  and  the  grants  of 
power  made  to  the  Continental  Congress  and  rp^^  ^^^g 
the  Confederacy  of  1781  had  established  a  ^J^^e^'^g^^^es 
nation  which  existed  of  its  own  right,  which  ^^^^l^^"^^^^' 
had  the  full  constitutional  authority,  even 
though  the  power  might  be  lacking,  to  assert  itself 
against  individual  States,  were  that  necessary.  Some 
who  held  this  view  went  even  so  far  as  to  claim,  not  that 
the  States  themselves  had  by  an  irrevocable  act  created 
a  nation ;  but  that  the  United  States  did,  in  fact,  by 
and  through  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  pre- 
exist ;  and  that  the  States  came  into  existence  only  as 
integral  parts  of  the  Union.  The  advocates  of  this  view 
pointed  to  the  record  that  the  Continental  Congress 
recommended  to  the  States  to  form  constitutions  and 
organize  governments  which  should  meet  the  fact  of 
separation  from  the  mother  country.  This  view  of  the 
relations  of  the  several  States  to  the  United  States  we 


30 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION* 


may  call  the  High  Federalist  view.  It  is  the  view  set 
forth  by  Chief  -  Justice  Jay  in  1792^  in  the  case  of 
Chisholm  vs.  the  State  of  Georgia.  It  is  the  view  sub- 
sequently defended  by  Mr.  Webster  in  the  Senate ;  the 
view  adopted  by  Judge  Story^  in  his  Commentaries  on 
the  Constitution ; the  view  elaborately  expounded  by 
Mr.  George  Ticknor  Curtis  in  his  History  of  the  Consti- 
tution.^^ So  strongly  was  the  opinion  of  the  supremacy 
of  the  United  States  maintained  by  some  members  of  the 
Convention,  that  they  proposed  that  the  existing  States 
should  be  broken  up  and  the  territory  redivided  into 
States  more  nearly  equal  in  extent  and  population.  Even 
those  high  Federalists  who  would  not  have  approved  of 
breaking  up  the  States,  agreed  with  their  brethren  in 
looking  upon  them  as  existing  for  the  purposes  of  local, 
as  distinguished  from  national,  government,  and  in  deny- 
ing to  them  the  attributes  of  sovereignty.  It  is  a  curious 
fact  that  those  who  held  advanced  views  on  this  ques- 
tion were  able  to  quote  in  their  own  support  the  words 
of  so  ardent  a  defender  of  State  rights  as  Patrick  Henry, 
who  had  once,  in  the  passion  of  his  eloquence,  spoken 
of  the  country  as    thrown  into  one  mass.^^ 

Between  the  two  extreme  views  which  have  been  de- 
scribed was  the  opinion  held,  probably  with  better  rea- 
son, which  may  be  expressed  in  the  language  of  Elbridge 
Gerry  :  We  were  neither  the  same  nation  nor  differ- 
ent nations/^  These  members  held  both  that  the  States 
had,  by  their  own  repeated  acts,  deeply  compromised 
their  independent  existence  ;  and  that  powerful  consid- 
erations of  public  policy,  and  even  of  public  necessity, 
urged  them,  here  and  now,  to  create  an  indestructible 
The  middle  ^nion  of  a  truly  national  character.  But,  on 
the  other  hand,  they  maintained  that  the 
States  were  still,  in  spite  of  all,  free  political  agents  ; 
nor  did  they  admit  that  the  States,  in  entering  such  a 


THE  CONSTITUTIONAL  CONVENTION  OF  1787  31 


union  as  was  to  be  desired,  would  become  mere  territo- 
rial subdivisions,  for  purposes  of  local  government,  like 
the  counties  which  in  turn  made  up  the  State.  The  two 
extreme  views  of  the  relations  of  the  several  States  to  the 
United  States  were  characteristic  of  the  lawyer.  The 
middle  view  was  more  worthy  of  the  statesman. 

While  there  were  a  hundred  matters,  no  one  of  them 
unimportant,  which  were  necessarily  to  be  subjects  of 
debate  and  division  in  the  Convention,  there     ^  , 

.  A  national 

were  certain  dominating  issues  with  which  ^J^g^^^^^^f 
the  members  had  at  once  to  deal,  if  the  first 
step  of  progress  was  to  be  made.  One  of  these  was  the 
issue  between  a  strong  and  a  weak  government ;  be- 
tween a  Constitution  which  should  recognize  the  exist- 
ence of  a  nation,  or  of  what  might  in  time  become  a 
nation,  and  a  Constitution  which  should  establish  a 
league  of  States,  brought  together  only  for  a  few  pur- 
poses, with  little  or  no  surrender  of  political  power  on 
the  part  of  the  constituent  members.  This  issue  was 
made  in  the  very  earliest  days  of  the  Convention  when 
Edmund  Kandolph,  on  behalf  of  the  delegates  from  Vir- 
ginia, as  the  State  at  whose  invitation  the  Convention 
had  been  called,  presented  a  series  of  resolutions  out- 
lining a  National  Constitution  for  the  United  States 
of  America.  The  resolutions  were  at  once  considered 
in  Committee  of  the  Whole,  where  the  general  idea  of  a 
strong  and  self-sufficient  government  was  adopted  by  a 
narrow  majority,  made  up  mostly  of  the  larger  States. 
Had  New  Hampshire  and  Rhode  Island,  two  small 
States,  been  represented,  the  decision  would  probably 
have  been  the  other  way.  But,  while  the  principle  of  a 
close  union,  instead  of  a  loose  confederation,  prevailed 
thus  in  the  first  encounter,  that  victory  was  a  dear  one, 
in  that  it  cost  the  influence  and  the  interest  of  some 
delegates  in  the  Convention  and  of  a  large  number  of 


y 


82  THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


citizens  outside.  These  persons  were  not  prepared  to 
establish  a  national  government  :  they  did  not  believe  in 
it  :  they  dreaded  it  :  and,  as  they  saw  things  inclining 
that  way,  they  became  disaffected,  if  not  inimical. 

An  issue  which  arose  at  the  same  time  with  the  fore- 
going, and  which  was  intimately,  though  not  logically, 
connected  with  it,  in  debate  and  in  vote,  was  that  be- 
tween equal  and  proportional  representation  in  the  leg- 
Equai  or  ^^^^^^^^  proposcd  ncw  government, 

proportional  The  larger,  that  is,  the  more  populous, 
representation?  ^^^^^  generally  disposed  to  insist  upon 

having  power  in  Congress  in  proportion  to  their  inhabi- 
tants. The  small  States  declared  that  they  would  not 
enter  a  government  in  which  three  or  four  of  them 
might  be  weighed  down  by  a  single  large  State.  This 
contest  was  a  fierce  one ;  and  without  a  compromise  it 
would  have  been  impossible  to  frame  a  constitution  and 
then  secure  its  adoption.  Yet  no  compromise  was  hit 
upon  in  Committee  of  the  Whole  ;  and  the  principle  of 
proportional  representation  was  accepted  by  a  majority 
of  six  States  to  five.  Here,  again,  was  a  victory  which 
was  costly,  so  costly,  indeed,  that,  had  it  been  pressed, 
the  whole  scheme  of  union  would  have  gone  to  pieces. 

The  third  great  issue  in  the  Convention  was  how  the 
slaves,  who  were  very  numerous  in  the  four  southern- 

Representa-  Hiost  States  —  Virginia,  North  and  South 
tion  of  slaves.  Carolina,  and  Georgia — should  be  considered 
and  treated  in  dealing  with  the  basis  of  representation. 
Should  they  be  counted  as  a  part  of  the  population,  or 
not  ?  The  States  named  were  earnest  in  holding  that 
the  slaves  should  be  included.  The  other  States,  most 
of  which  had  few  slaves,  were  indisposed  to  yield  this 
point.  Slaves  were  property  :  why  should  they  be 
treated  as  persons  for  the  purposes  of  representation  ? 
Why  should  certain  States  have  vastly  increased  power 


THE  CONSTITUTIONAL  CONVENTION  OF  1787  33 


in  Congress  because  they  had  many  slaves  ?  The  con- 
test here  was  a  severe  one,  and  not  a  little  embit- 
tered. There  was  great  danger  of  wrecking  the  whole 
scheme  upon  this  obstacle.  A  compromise,  suggested 
by  James  Wilson,  of  Pennsylvania,  was  adopted,  to 
the  effect  that  slaves  should  be  counted  in  the  basis 
of  representation  to  the  extent  of  three  -  fifths  their 
actual  number.  That  is,  if  a  State  had  two  hundred 
thousand,  each,  of  free  persons  and  of  slaves,  it 
should  be  taken,  for  this  purpose,  to  have  a  popula- 
tion of  320,000.  Such  were  the  three  main  issues  of 
the  Convention  in  the  first  stage  of  its  deliberations. 
Other  matters  were  debated  and  decided  which  were  im- 
portant, which  were,  indeed,  certain  to  be  of  the  high- 
est consequence  in  the  history  of  the  new  government, 
if  it  should  be  founded  ;  but  none  of  these  were  vital  in 
the  sense  that  upon  them  turned  the  question  whether 
there  should  be  a  union,  or,  rather,  whether  a  constitu- 
tion should  even  be  framed  for  the  States  to  consider. 
The  continued  existence  of  slavery  was  not  among  mat- 
ters dealt  with,  for  it  was  assumed  from  the  start  that 
the  Convention  could  not  interfere  with  this  relation  as 
existing  within  individual  States. 

The  Committee  of  the  Whole  having  reported  the  re- 
sults which  have  been  stated,  the  contest  at  once  began 
all  over  again  upon  the  presentation  by  Mr.  Patterson,  a 
delegate  from  New  Jersey,  of  a  series  of  resolutions  pro- 
viding for  the  establishment  of  a  federal,  instead  of  a 
national,  government.  In  this  stage  of  the  proceed- 
ings, a  compromise  as  to  the  basis  of  representation  was 
reached,  upon  the  suggestion  of  the  delegates  The  com- 
from  Connecticut.  It  was  agreed  that  the  Fepresenta'^ 
States  should  have  equal  power  in  the  Sen- 
ate,  while  in  the  House  they  should  have  representation 
in  proportion  to  population.  The  rule  as  to  the  count- 
3 


34 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


ing  of  slaves,  which  has  already  been  mentioned,  was  also, 
after  a  passionate  debate,  reaffirmed.  The  compromise 
thus  effected  was  of  the  highest  importance.  Without 
this,  it  is  not  reasonable  to  suppose  that  a  constitu- 
tion would  have  been  recommended  to  the  States  for 
consideration.  Even  this  did  not  secure  the  ultimate 
adoption  of  the  work  of  the  Convention,  but  it  did  make 
it  tolerably  certain  that  that  body  would  itself  come  to 
an  agreement  of  some  sort. 

The  contest  over  the  basis  of  representation  had  been 
severe,  and  much  sectional  feeling  had  been  developed. 
New  York,  not  then  counted  among  the  large  States, 
though  now  largest  of  all,  and  consequently  deriving 
most  benefit  from  proportional  representation,  had  op- 
posed the  adoption  of  that  principle  in  regard  to  the 
House  of  Eepresentatives  ;  and,  upon  the  success  of  that 
plan,  Yates  and  Lansing  returned  home  in  disgust,  leav- 
ing Hamilton  alone  to  speak  for  New  York  in  the  Con- 
vention, though  without  any  authority  to  bind  his  State. 
The  struggle  had  left  other  wounds  which  would  en- 
danger ratification ;  but  from  this  time  forward  the 
work  of  framing  a  constitution  on  the  Virginia  plan, 
with  the  compromises  already  agreed  to,  went  rapidly 
on.  A  Committee  of  Detail  was  appointed,  consisting  of 
Eutledge,  Eandolph,  Gorham,  and  Wilson.  After  what 
seemed  an  impossibly  brief  delay,  this  committee  brought 
in  a  rough  draft  of  the  Constitution  as  it  was  finally 
adopted.  The  committee  gave  to  the  chief  Executive  of 
Committee  the  proposcd  government  the  title  of  Presi- 
troduces^^new  ^^^^  ?  legislature,  the  name  of  Congress, 
issues.  while  the  upper  chamber  was  to  be  known 
as  the  Senate,  and  the  lower  as  the  House  of  Kepresen* 
tatives.  The  most  important  features  introduced  by  the 
committee  upon  their  own  judgment  were  the  provisions 
that  no  duties  should  be  levied  upon  exports ;  that  the 


THE  CONSTITUTIOlSrAL  CONVENTION  OF  1787  35 

slave-trade  should  not  be  prohibited ;  and  that  no  ^'navi- 
gation act^^  should  be  passed  except  by  a  two-thirds 
vote.  All  these  provisions  had  been  inserted  upon  the 
demands  of  delegates  from  the  southernmost  States. 
The  provision  as  to  the  taxation  of  exports  was  for  the 
protection  of  the  rice  and  indigo  of  Geoj-gia  and  South 
Carolina.  The  provision  of  the  two-thirds  vote  on  navi- 
gation acts  was  proposed  because  the  ship-building  of 
the  country  was  mainly  in  the  northern  States.  The 
provision  regarding  the  slave-trade  requires  no  explana- 
tion. Each  of  these  new  provisions  added  by  the  Com- 
mittee on  Detail  led  to  earnest  and  even  acrimonious 
debate.  The  third  was  finally  given  up  by  the  southern 
representatives,  but  the  first  and  second  were  adopted, 
except  that  the  prohibition  of  interference  with  the 
slave-trade  was  limited  to  the  term  of  twenty  years. 
Thus  the  last  of  the  Compromises  of  the  Constitu- 
tion^^ was  effected.  Much  as  anyone  may  dislike  the 
principle  on  which  these  were  based,  it  is  hardly  possible 
for  a  candid  man  to  deny  that,  without  them,  or  some- 
thing very  like  them,  that  instrument  could  not  have 
been  framed  by  the  Convention  and  adopted  by  the 
States.  Who,  in  this  age,  can  doubt  that  it  was  far  bet- 
ter for  the  States  to  come  together,  as  they  then  did, 
than  that  the  effort  at  union  should  have  been  aban- 
doned, and  the  American  people  have  remained  apart  in 
separate  States,  or  have  founded  two  or  three  confedera- 
tions along  the  Atlantic  slope,  with  the  vast  western 
country  to  fight  over  in  the  near  future  ?  *  The  last  clause 
brings  to  view  a  consideration  which,  though  not  the 
work  of  the  Convention,  had  been  a  constant  force  mak- 

*  The  idea  that,  upon  the  failure  of  the  Convention  to  agree  upon  a 
form  of  government,  there  would  arise  two  confederacies  on  the  Atlantic 
coast,  was  a  very  common  one.  Mr.  Wilson  remarked  during  one  of  the 
debates,  that  "he  knew  there  were  some  respectable  men  who  preferred 
three  confederacies,  united  by  offensive  and  defensive  alliances." 


36  THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


ing  steadily  for  agreement  and  co-operation.  The  exist- 
ence beyond  the  Alleghanies  of  nearly  half  a  million 
square  miles  of  territory,  much  of  which  had  been  for- 
mally ceded  to  the  United  States,  constituted  an  argu- 
ment for  union,  the  force  of  which  it  would  be  impossi- 
ble to  over-estimate.  As  Webster,  in  his  famous  speech 
on  the  Compromise  of  1850,  asked.  What  is  to  become 
of  the  public  lands  in  the  event  of  dissolution  ?  so  no 
member  of  the  Convention  of  1787  could  fail  to  ask,  in 
his  own  mind.  What  is  to  become  of  the  public  lands  in 
case  the  States  should  not  succeed  in  establishing  a  com- 
mon government  ? 

After  agreement  on  the  points  already  mentioned  had 
been  reached,  though  in  no  instance  without  severely 
straining  the  patience  of  some  among  the  delegates,  if 
not  indeed  greatly  impairing  their  interest  in  the  gener- 
al result,*  the  work  went  swiftly  forward.  There  still 
remained  many  matters  of  important  detail  to  be  de- 
cided, such  as  the  method  of  choice,  the  term  of  service, 
and  the  eligibility  of  the  chief  Executive  to  re-election  ;  f 
the  provision  for  a  Vice-President,  the  President's  veto 
upon  legislation,  the  appointment  of  judges,  the  meth- 
ods of  amending  the  Constitution,  should  it  be  adopted, 

*  For  example,  Mr.  Randolph,  of  Virginia,  who  himself  proposed  the 
general  plan  which,  with  important  modifications,  had  prevailed  in  the 
Convention,  declared  in  the  debate  over  the  navigation  clause  that  the 
scheme  as  it  stood  contained  so  many  odious  features  that  he  hardly 
knew  if  he  could  agree  to  it."  At  a  later  stage,  Mr.  Mason,  also  of  Vir- 
ginia, one  of  the  ablest  and  most  influential  members,  expressed  the  be- 
lief that  the  proposed  form  of  government  would  result  in  a  monarchy  or 
a  tyrannical  aristocracy,  and  signified  his  intention  to  withhold  his  signa- 
ture. On  August  31st  he  declared  that  **he  would  sooner  chop  off  his 
right  hand  than  put  it  to  the  Constitution  as  it  now  stands."  Mr.  Gerry, 
of  Massachusetts,  spoke  in  the  same  vein. 

t  In  its  earlier  stages  the  Convention  fixed  the  term  of  the  President 
at  seven  years,  and  made  him  ineligible  to  re-election.  When  near  ad- 
journment, the  Convention  reduced  the  term  to  four  years,  and  struck  out 
the  provision  of  non-reeligibility. 


THE  CONSTITUTIONAL  CONVENTION  OF  1787  37 


the  method  of  submitting  the  Constitution  to  the  States, 
and  the  number  of  States  whose  ratification  should  suf- 
fice to  bring  the  new  government  into  being.  On  the 
last-named  point  the  action  of  the  Convention  was  most 
important.  It  was  provided  that  the  new  Constitution 
should  go  into  operation  when  ratified  by  nine  States. 
This  provision,  eminently  wise  as  it  was,  made  the  whole 
proceedings  of  the  Convention  revolutionary.  The  Arti- 
cles of  1781  had  provided  for  a  Perpetual  Union 
and  it  had  been  explicitly  declared  that  no  alteration 
should  at  any  time  be  made  in  any  of  them  unless  such 
alteration  should  be  confirmed  by  the  legislature  of  every 
State.  The  Convention  of  1787  had  been  called  for  the 
sole  purpose  of  revising  those  articles ;  but  from  the  first 
its  proceedings  had  been  such  as  amounted  to  throwing 
the  Confederation  overboard  and  making  a  substantially 
new  form  of  government.*  The  action  taken  regarding 
ratification  was  even  more  distinctly  in  violation  of  the 
principles  of  the  Confederation.  Instead  of  ^^.^^  g^^^^^ 
unanimous  consent,  the  ratification  of  nine  ^^^^J^g^j^  ^  ^ 
States  was  to  sufllce  to  set  up  the  new  gov- 
ernment, while  the  States  not  consenting,  be  they  one 
or  two  or  three  or  four,  were  to  be  left  out  in  the  cold, 
having  no  part  or  lot  with  those  whom  they  had 
helped  to  achieve  independence,  and  with  whom  they 
had  been  closely  associated  ever  since  the  Congress  of 
1774.  Such  a  procedure  was,  as  has  been  said,  distinctly 
revolutionary  in  its  character.    The  fundamental  law, 

*  This  change  of  purpose  is  indicated  by  Mr.  Randolph's  change  in  his 
first  resolution.  As  originally  drawn,  this  read  as  follows :  ''Resolved, 
That  the  Articles  of  Confederation  ought  to  be  so  corrected  and  enlarged 
as  to  accomplish  the  objects  proposed  by  their  institution,  namely,  '  com- 
mon defence,  security  of  liberty  and  general  welfare.'  "  This  was  subse- 
quently modified  by  Mr.  Randolph  to  read,  "Resolved,  That  a  national 
government  ought  to  be  established,  consisting  of  a  supreme  legislative, 
executive,  and  judiciary." 


38 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  KATIO^f 


as  existing,  was  to  be  violated  in  the  formation  of  the 
new  government.  The  dismemberment  of  the  Confed- 
eration was  to  be  made,  if  necessary — in  fact  was  made 
— a  means  to  the  creation  of  the  union.  The  American 
people,  as  they  sprang  to  a  higher  political  plane, 
spurned  away  the  support  which  had  upheld  them  in 
days  of  greater  trial  and  weakness. 

This  fact  of  the  revolutionary  origin  of  the  instrument 
of  1787  is  one  of  no  little  consequence  to  the  student  of 
The  consti-  constitutional  law.  Those  political  writers- 
tution  revolu-  who  havc  sought,  lawycr-likc,  to  trace  an 
uninterrupted  descent  from  the  Congress 
which  promulgated  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
through  the  Confederation  of  1781,  down  to  the  first 
Congress  under  the  Union,  have  a  difficult  task  to  per- 
form. Here,  at  the  point  we  have  now  reached,  yawns 
an  abyss  which  they  can  neither  leap  nor  bridge.  The 
solution  of  continuity  is  complete.  It  is  idle  to  seek  to 
derive  the  authority  of  the  new  government  from  what- 
ever grants  or  concessions  of  power  had  been  made  to 
the  antecedent  Confederation  or  to  the  revolutionary 
Congress.  But,  even  if  the  descent  of  the  Constitution 
from  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  or  from  the  acts 
and  proceedings  of  the  Revolutionary  Congress,  had 
been  clear  and  uninterrupted,  from  the  lawyer^s  point 
of  view,  it  would  still  have  been  true  that  the  character 
of  the  nation  sought  to  be  set  up  in  1787  was  not  to  be 
determined  wholly  by  what  was  found  in  the  Constitu- 
tion as  offered  to  the  people.  Governments  are  what 
peoples  by  their  acts  make  them.  Even  in  the  impor- 
tant step  now  taken,  the  real  nature  of  the  new  gov- 
ernment was  to  be  determined,  not  wholly  or  mainly,  by 
the  terms  of  the  Constitution,  but  by  the  logic  of  events  ; 
by  the  fortunes  of  the  nation  ;  by  the  growth  of  popu- 
lation ;  the  quickening  of  transportation  ;  the  diversifi- 


THE  CONSTITUTIONAL  CONVENTION  OF  1787  39 


cation  of  industry  ;  the  acquisition  of  territory ;  by  a 
gradual  process  of  evolution  under  the  impulse  or  con- 
straint of  forces,  some  of  which  had  not  appeared  in 
1787  ;  and,  lastly,  by  act  of  war. 

Even  while  the  Convention  was  engaged  in  its  con- 
structive work,  the  Congress  of  the  Confederation,  on 
July  13th,  enacted  the  ever-memorable  Ordinance  re- 
garding the  territory  northwest  of  the  Ohio,  which 
comprised  vfhat  are  now  the  five  States  of  Ohio,  Illi- 
nois, Indiana,  Michigan,  and  Wisconsin.  This  vast 
territory  had  been  ceded  to  the  United  States  *  by  the 
acts  of  the  several  States  making  claim  thereto  under 
their  colonial  charters.  By  the  Ordinance  referred  to. 
Congress  made  provision,  not  merely  for  the  The  ordi- 
government  of  that  territory  in  all  ordinary 
civil  respects  and  particulars  ;  but  provided  that  there 
should  be  formed  out  of  it  not  less  than  three  or 
more  than  five  States  which  should  '^'^  forever  remain  a 
part  of  this  confederacy  of  the  United  States  of  Amer- 
ica, subject  to  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  and  to 
such  alterations  therein  as  shall  be  constitutionally 
made  ;  and  to  all  the  acts  and  ordinances  of  the  United 
States  in  Congress  assembled,  conformable  thereto. 

The  Ordinance  of  1787  is  one  of  the  monumental 
charters  of  American  constitutional  history.  It  not 
only'  provided  for  building  up  great  States  vastimpor- 
on  that  noble  territory  ;  it  also  established  tance  of  this 
presonal  liberty  as  the  perpetual  and  inde- 
feasible law  of  those  States,  for  it  declared  that  slavery 
^and  involuntary  servitude,  except  for  crime,  should 
never  be  knowii  in  that  vast  empire.     The  honor  of 

*  Virginia  made  exception  of  the  proceeds  of  sales  of  certain  lands  in 
Southern  Ohio,  which  were  needed  to  discharge  her  obligations  to  her 
revolutionary  soldiers ;  and  Connecticut  made  the  same  exception  as  to 
that  portion  of  Northern  Ohio  known  as  the  Western  Reserve.  / 


40 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


this  enactment  (which  passed  in  a  Congress  of  only 
eighteen  delegates)  has  been  claimed  for  several  per- 
sons.   It  is  most  commonly  given  by  fame  to  Nathan 
Dane^  a  member  of  Congress  from  Massachusetts^  and  to 
Dr.  Manasseh  Cutler,  of  the  same  State.   It  was  another 
Massachusetts  man.  General  Rufus  Putnam,  who  was  to 
lead  the  great  enterprise  of  the  practical  settlement  of 
the  Northwest  territory.    The  Ordinance  of  1787  pro- 
vided for  the  immediate  establishment  of  a  territorial 
/  government.    It  is  interesting  to  note,  as  an  evidence 
of  the  aristocratic  political  ideas  of  the  time,  that  the 
governor  was  required  to  own  a  freehold  of  one  thou- 
sand acres;  the  secretary,  judges,  and  members  of  the 
.  council,  to  have  freeholds  of  five  hundred  acres  each  ; 
\  representatives  to  hold  in  their  own  right  two  hundred 
I  acres  each ;  while  no  resident  should  be  a  qualified 
(  elector  who  had  not  a  freehold  of  fifty  acres. 


CHAPTER  III 


THE  CONSTITUTION  AS  SUBMITTED  TO  THE  PEOPLE 

A  National  Form  of  Government— Organization  of  Congress — Rule 
as  to  Suffrage  in  National  Elections  :  The  Cause  of  this  found 
in  the  varying  Rules  of  the  several  States — The  Powers  of  Con- 
gress— Acts  Forbidden  to  Congress — Acts  Forbidden  to  the 
States — Powers  and  Duties  of  the  Executive — The  Judiciary  : 
Its  Jurisdiction — Trials  of  all  Crimes  to  be  by  Jury — Definition 
of  Treason — Relations  between  Individual  States  and  between 
the  States  and  the  United  States  :  Mutual  Faith  and  Credit, 
the  Rule  —  New  States  —  The  Territories  —  Guarantee  to  the 
States  of  a  Republican  Form  of  Government — Future  Amend- 
ments to  the  Constitution — Integrity  of  the  Financial  Obliga- 
tions of  the  Confederation — The  Constitution  to  be  the  Supreme 
Law  of  the  Land — National  and  State  Officers  to  be  bound  by 
Oath  to  Support  the  Constitution — The  Ratification  of  Nine 
States  sufficient  to  Establish  the  New  Government. 


As  finally  adopted  by  the  Convention  of  1787,  and 
submitted  to  the  people,  the  Constitution  established  a 
national  legislature,  a  national  executive  and  a  national 
judiciary,  each  duly  independent  of  the  others.  Of  the 
seven  Articles  which  made  up  the  Constitution,  the  first . 
provided  for  a  Congress  to  consist  of  two  houses,  a 
Senate  and  a  House  of  Kepresentatives,  following,  in 
this  division  of  the  legislative  authority,  the  example  of 
most  of  the  individual  States.  The  House  of  Kepre- 
sentatives was  to  be  composed  of  members  chosen  every 
second  year  by  the  people  of  the  several  organization 
States.  In  order  not  to  impose  a  uniform  of  congress, 
rule  of  suffrage  upon  the  States,  it  was  provided  that 
those  who  in  each  State  had  the  qualifications  there 


42 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


requisite  for  electors  of  the  more  numerous  branch  of 
the  legislature  should  be  the  electors  of  the  repre 
sentatives  in  Congress.  The  number  of  representatives 
in  Congress  was  to  be  proportional  to  the  respective 
numbers  of  the  several  States,  three-fifths  of  the  slaves 
being  counted  for  this  purpose.  The  Senate  was  to  be 
composed  of  two  senators  from  each  State,  chosen  by, 
the  legislature  thereof  for  the  term  of  six  years,  each 
senator  to  have  an  individual  vote.  The  Vice-President 
of  the  United  States  was  to  be  President  of  the  Senate. 
It  was  provided  that  the  time,  place,  and  manner  of 
holding  elections  for  senators  and  representatives  should 
be  prescribed  by  the  legislature  of  each  State  ;  but  that 
Congress  might  at  any  time  make  or  alter  such  regula- 
tions, except  as  to  the  place  of  choosing  senators.  The 
purpose  in  this  exception  was  that  Congress  should  not 
fix  a  place  for  choosing  senators  away  from  that  in  which 
the  State  legislature,  which  was  to  choose  the  senators, 
should  by  law  be  sitting.  Each  house  was  to  be  the 
judge  of  the  elections,  returns,  and  qualifications  of  its 
own  members ;  and  might  determine  the  rules  of  its 
proceedings,  punish  its  members  for  disorderly  be- 
havior, and,  with  the  concurrence  of  two-thirds,  expel  a 
member.  Neither  house  could,  during  the  session  of 
Congress,  without  the  consent  of  the  other,  adjourn  for 
more  than  three  days,  or  adjourn  to  any  other  place 
than  that  in  which  the  two  houses  should  be  sitting. 
Senators  and  representatives  were  to  receive  a  compensa- 
tion for  their  services,  to  be  fixed  by  law,  and  to  be  paid 
out  of  the  treasury  of  the  United  States.  They  were  to 
be  in  all  cases,  except  treason,  felony,  and  breach  of  the 
peace,  privileged  from  arrest  during  attendance  and  in 
going  to  and  returning  from  their  homes  ;  and  it  was 
provided  that  they  should  not  be  questioned  in  any 
other  place — that  is,  in  courts  of  law — for  any  speech  or 


THE  CONSTITUTIOIsr  AS  SUBMITTED 


43 


debate.  The  Senate  should  have  the  sole  power  to  try 
all  impeachments.  When  the  President  of  the  United 
States  was  to  be  tried,  the  Chief-Justice  should  pre- 
side. N"o  person  should  be  convicted  on  impeachment 
without  the  concurrence  of  two-thirds  of  the  members 
present.  Judgment  should  not  extend  further  than  re- 
moval from  office  and  future  disqualification  ;  but  the 
party  convicted  should  still  be  liable  to  punishment  at 
law.  Bills  for  raising  revenue  should  originate  in  the 
House  of  Representatives^  only^  as  th6  more  popular 
branch ;  but  the  Senate  might  propose  or  concur  in 
amendments  to  such  bills.  Bills  which  had  passed  both 
houses  should  become  law  only  after  receiving  the  ap- 
proval of  the  President,  except  that  Congress  might,  by 
a  two-thirds  vote  of  both  houses,  pass  a  bill  which  had 
been  disapproved,  or    vetoed, by  the  President. 

The  powers  of  Congress  were  expressed  to  be  :  To  lay 
and  collect  taxes,  duties,  imposts,  and  excises,  uniform 
throughout  the  United  States,  to  pay  the  rpj^g  powers 
debts  and  provide  for  the  common  defence  ofCongrese. 
and  the  general  welfare  of  the  United  States ;  to 
borrow  money  on  the  credit  of  the  United  States  ; 
to  regulate  commerce  with  foreign  nations,  among  the 
several  States  and  with  the  Indian  tribes ;  to  establish 
a  uniform  rule  of  naturalization  and  uniform  laws  on 
the  subject  of  bankruptcies  ;  to  coin  money  and  to 
punish  the  counterfeiting  of  the  coin  or  current  securi- 
ties of  the  United  States ;  to  establish  post-offices  and 
post-roads  ;  to  provide  for  the  granting  of  patent  rights 
or  copyrights  for  terms  of  years ;  to  define  and  punish 
piracies  and  felonies  on  the  high  seas  and  offences 
against  the  laws  of  nations  ;  to  declare  war,  grant 

letters  of  marque  and  reprisal, and  make  rules  con- 
cerning captures  by  land  and  water  ;  to  maintain  armies 
and  a  navy  ;  to  provide  for  calling  out  the  militia,  to 


44  THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


execute  the  laws  of  the  Union,  suppress  insurrections  and 
repel  invasion  ;  to  organize  and  discipline  the  militia,* 
and  to  govern  such  of  them  as  might  be  employed  in 
the  service  of  the  United  States ;  to  exercise  exclusive 
jurisdiction  over  such  district,  not  exceeding  ten  miles 
square,  as  might,  by  cession  of  particular  States  and  the 
acceptance  of  Congress,  become  the  seat  of  government ; 
and  to  exercise  a  like  authority  over  all  places  pur- 
chased, with  consent  of  the  legislature  of  the  State  in 
which  the  same  might  be,  for  the  erection  of  forts,  mag- 
azines, arsenals,  dock-yards,  and  other  needful  build- 
ings ;  to  make  all  laws  which  should  be  necessary  and 
proper  for  carrying  into  effect  the  foregoing  powers,  and 
all  other  poiuers  vested  by  the  Constitution  in  the  govern- 
ment of  the  United  States  or  in  any  dejpartment  or  officer 
thereof. 

To  Congress  it  was  expressly  forbidden  :  To  pro- 
hibit the  migration  or  importation  of  such  persons  (i.^.. 
Acts  ro-  ^l^^^s^  imported  as  slaves)  as  any  of  the  ex- 
con^ess       isting  States  might  think  proper  to  admit, 
prior  to  1808  ;  to  suspend  the  writ  of  habeas 
corpus,  unless  when,  in  cases  of  invasion  or  rebellion, 
the  public  safety  might  require  it ;  to  pass  any  bill  of 
attainder  or  ex-post  facto  law  ;  to  levy  any  capitation 
or  other  direct  tax  unless  in  proportion  to  population  ;  to 
lay  any  tax  or  duty  on  articles  exported  from  any  State ; 
to  give  preference,  by  any  regulation  of  commerce  or 
revenue,  to  the  ports  of  one  State  over  those  of  another. 
To  the  States  it  was  expressly  forbidden  :  To  enter 
Acts  pro-  ^^^^        treaty,  alliance,  or  confederation; 
bibitedtothe  grant  ^''letters  of  marque  and  reprisal 

coin  money  ;  emit  bills  of  credit ;  make  any- 
thing but  gold  and  silver  coin  a  tender  in  payment  of 

*  To  the  States  was  reserved  the  appointment  of  officers  and  the  train- 
ing of  the  militia  according  to  the  discipline  prescribed  by  Congress. 


THE  CONSTITUTION  AS  SUBMITTED  45 


debts  ;  pass  any  bill  of  attainder  or  ex-post  facto  law  or 
laws  impairing  the  obligation  of  contracts,  or  grant  any 
title  of  nobility ;  to  levy,  without  the  consent  of  Con- 
gress, any  imposts  or  duties  on  imports  or  exports  ex- 
cept what  might  be  absolutely  necessary  for  executing 
the  inspection  laws  *  of  any  State ;  to  lay,  without  the 
consent  of  Congress,  any  duty  of  tonnage  ;  keep  troops 
or  ships  of  war  in  times  of  peace  ;  or  engage  in  war  un- 
less actually  invaded  or  in  such  imminent  danger  as 
would  not  admit  of  delay. 

In  the  Second  Article,  relating  to  the  Executive,  it 
was  declared  :  That  the  executive  power  should  be  vested 
in  the  President  of  the  United  States,  a  natural-born  citi- 
zen, who,  with  a  Vice-President,  should  hold  office  for 
four  years  ;  that  the  President  and  the  Vice-President 
should  be  chosen  by  ^lectors,  who,  for  each  State,  should 
be  equal  to  the  whole  number  of  senators  and  represen- 
tatives to  which  that  State  might  be  entitled  in  Con- 
gress—the time  of  choosing  Electors  and  the  day  on 
which  they  should  give  their  votes  (uniform  through- 
out the  United  States)  being  determined  by  Congress ; 
that,  in  case  of  the  removal  of  the  President  from  office, 
or  of  his  death,  resignation,  or  inability,  the  Vice-Presi- 
dent should  succeed.  Congress  being  authorized  to  pro- 
vide by  law  for  a  further  succession  ;  that  the  President 
should  be  commander-in-chief  of  the  military  and  naval 
forces ;  and  should  have  power  to  grant  re- 

1         1         J?        ne  '     1.  ±1         Powers  and 

prieves  and  pardons  tor  onences  against  the  duties  of  the 
•United  States,  except  in  cases  of  impeach- 
ment ;  that  he  should  have  power,  by  and  with  the  con- 
sent of  two-thirds  of  the  Senate,  to  make  treaties  with 
foreign  nations  ;  that  he  should  nominate,  and,  by  and 

*Such  inspection  laws  to  be  subject  to  the  revision  and  control  of 
Congress ;  and  the  net  produce  of  all  such  duties  and  imposts  to  be  fo» 
the  use  of  the  United  States. 


46  THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate^  appoint  am- 
bassadors, other  public  ministers  and  consuls,  judges  of 
the  Supreme  Court  and  all  other  officers  of  the  United 
States  whose  appointment  should  not  otherwise  be  pro- 
vided for  *  and  which  should  be  established  by  law ;  that 
in  the  recess  of  the  Senate  the  President  should  have 
power  to  fill  all  vacancies  which  might  occur,  such  com- 
missions to  expire  at  the  end  of  the  next  session ;  that 
the  President  should  from  time  to  time  give  Congress 
information  of  the  state  of  the  Union  and  recommend 
such  measures  as  he  might  deem  necessary  and  expedi- 
ent ;  that  the  President  should  receive  ambassadors  and 
other  public  ministers  ;  that  he  should  take  care  that  the 
laws  be  faithfully  executed,  and  should  commission  all 
officers  of  the  United  States ;  that  the  President,  Vice- 
President,  and  all  the  civil  officers  of  the  United  States 
should  be  removed  from  office  on  impeachment  for,  and 
conviction  of,  treason,  bribery,  and  other  high  crimes 
and  misdemeanors. 

The  Third  Article  provided  for  the  Judiciary.   It  was 
declared  that  the  judicial  power  of  the  United  States 
.  ^.  .  ,  should  be  vested  in  one  Supreme  Court  and 

Thejudicial   .  ,    .    «    .         .  t 

power  and  m  such  inferior  tribunals  as  Congress  might 
from  time  to  time  establish,  the  judges  holding 
their  offices  during  good  behavior ;  that  the  judicial  power 
should  extend  to  all  cases,  in  law  or  equity,  arising  under 
the  Constitution,  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  and  trea- 
ties made  under  their  authority,  to  all  cases  affecting 
ambassadors,  other  public  ministers  and  consuls,  to  all 
cases  of  admiralty  and  maritime  jurisdiction,  to  all  con- 
troversies to  which  the  United  States  should  be  a  party, 
to  controversies  between  two  or  more  States,  between  a 

*  Congress  having  the  power  to  vest  by  law  the  appointment  of  such 
inferior  officers  as  they  might  think  proper  in  the  President  alone,  in  tha 
courts  of  law,  or  in  the  heads  of  departments. 


THE  CONSTITUTION  AS  SUBMITTED 


47 


State  and  citizens  of  another  State^  between  citizens  of 
different  States,  between  citizens  of  the  same  State 
claiming  lands  under  grants  of  different  States,  and  be- 
tween a  State,  or  the  citizens  thereof,  and  foreign  States, 
citizens,  or  subjects.  In  all  cases  affecting  ambassadors, 
other  public  ministers,  and  consuls,  and  those  in  which 
a  State  should  be  a  party,  the  Supreme  Court  should 
have  original  jurisdiction.  In  all  the  other  cases  be- 
fore mentioned  the  Supreme  Court  should  have  appel- 
late jurisdiction,  both  as  to  law  and  fact,  with  such 
exceptions  and  under  such  regulations  as  the  Congress 
might  make.  The  trial  of  all  crimes,  except  in  case  of 
impeachment,  should  be  by  jury,  such  trial  being  held 
in  the  State  in  which  such  crimes  should  have  been  com- 
mitted. Treason  against  the  United  States  should  con- 
sist only  in  levying  war  against  them  or  in  giving  aid  and 
comfort  to  their  enemies  :  no  person  to  be  convicted  of 
treason  except  upon  the  testimony  of  two  witnesses  to 
the  same  overt  act,  or  upon  confession  in  open  court.  In 
another  place  it  was  provided  that  Congress  should  have 
power  to  declare  the  punishment  of  treason  ;  but  that  no 
attainder  of  treason  should  work  corruption  of  blood,  or 
forfeiture  except  during  the  life  of  the  person  attainted. 

The  Fourth  Article  governed  the  relations  between  in- 
dividual States  and  between  the  States  and  the  United 
States.    It  was  provided  :  That  full  faith    ^  , 

T      T  •  •  T  Relations 

and  credit  should  be  given  m  each  State  ^^^.^^^^^^ 
to  the  public  acts,  records,  and  judicial  pro-  with  the  Uuit- 
ceedings  of  every  other  State  ;  that  the  ^  ^ 
citizens  of  each  State  should  be  entitled  to  all  the 
privileges  and  immunities  of  citizens  in  the  several 
States  ;  that  any  person  charged  in  any  State  with 
treason,  felony,  or  other  crime,  who  should  flee  from 
justice  and  be  found  in  another  State,  should,  on  the 
demand  of  the  executive  authority  of  the  State  from 


48  THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


which  he  fled,  be  delivered  up  ;  that  no  person  held  to 
service  or  labor  (apprentice  or  slave)  in  one  State,  un- 
der the  laws  thereof,  escaping  into  another,  should,  in 
consequence  of  any  law  or  regulation  therein,  be  dis- 
charged from  such  service  or  labor,  but  should  be  de- 
livered up  on  claim  of  the  party  to  whom  such  service 
or  labor  was  due  ;  that  new  States  might  be  admitted 
into  the  Union  ;  but  that  no  new  State  should  be  formed 
or  erected  within  the  jurisdiction  of  any  other  State,  nor 
any  State  be  formed  by  the  junction  of  two  or  more  States 
or  parts  of  States,  without  the  consent  of  the  legis- 
latures of  the  States  concerned,  as  well  as  of  Congress ; 
that  Congress  should  have  power  to  dispose  of,  and  make 
all  needful  rules  and  regulations  respecting,  the  territory 
belonging  to  the  United  States  ;  that  the  United  States 
should  guarantee  to  every  State  a  republican  form  of 
government ;  and  should  protect  each  of  them  against 
invasion,  and  on  application  of  the  legislature,  or  of  the 
executive  (when  the  legislature  could  not  be  convened), 
against  domestic  violence. 

The  Fifth  Article  provided  for  amendments  to  the 
Constitution,  as  follows  :  Congress,  whenever  two-thirds 
Amendments  ^oth  Houscs  should  deem  it  necessary, 
should  propose  amendments  to  the  Constitu- 
tion, or,  on  the  application  of  the  legislature  of  two- 
thirds  of  the  several  States,  should  call  a  convention  for 
proposing  amendments,  which  in  either  case  should  be 
valid,  as  part  of  the  Constitution,  when  ratified  by  the 
legislatures  of  three-fourths  of  the  several  States,  or  by 
conventions  in  three-fourths  thereof,  as  the  one  or  the 
other  mode  of  ratification  might  be  proposed  by  Con- 
gress ;  provided  that  no  State  without  its  consent  should 
be  deprived  of  its  equal  suffrage  in  the  Senate. 

The  Sixth  Article  declared  :  That  all  debts  con- 
tracted and  engagements  entered  into  before  the  adop- 


THE  CONSTITUTION  AS  SUBMITTED 


49 


tion  of  the  Constitution  sliould  be  as  valid  against  the 
United  States  as  under  the  Confederation  ;  that  the 
Constitution,  and  the  laws  of  the  United  States  made  in 
pursuance  thereof,  and  all  treaties  made  or  to  be  made 
under  the  authority  of  the  United  States,  should  be  the 
supreme  law  of  the  land ;  and  that  the 
judges  in  every  State  should  be  bound  there-  tuuon  the  su- 
by,  despite  anything  in  the  constitution  or 
the  laws  of  any  State  ;  that  the  senators  and  represen- 
tatives of  the  United  States,  and  the  members  of  the 
several  State  legislatures,  and  all  the  executive  and  ju- 
dicial officers,  both  of  the  United  States  and  of  the  several 
States,  should  be  bound  by  oath  or  affirmation  to  sup- 
port the  Constitution  ;  but  that  no  religious  test  should 
ever  be  required  as  a  qualification  to  any  office  or  public 
trust  under  the  United  States. 

The  Seventh  and  last  Article  provided  that  the  rati- 
fication of  the  conventions  of  nine  States  should  be 
sufficient  for  the  establishment  of  the  Con-  -g^^j^^^^j^jj 
stitution  between  the  States  so  ratifying  the 
same. 

It  has  been  said  that  Congress  purposely  avoided  es- 
tablishing a  uniform  rule  of  suffrage  throughout  the 
Union.  In  the  early  settlement  of  the  coun-  The  mie  of 
try  the  conditions  imposed  upon  suffrage  in  suffrage, 
the  different  colonies  were  of  great  variety.  The  New 
England  colonies  generally  seem  to  have  regarded  them- 
selves, not  as  open  communities  into  which  anyone  might 
enter  who  chose  to  come  and  behave  himself,  but  as 
corporations  in  which  regular  members  alone  had  any 
share.  Even  in  colonies  more  hospitable  to  foreigners, 
the  qualifications  for  suffrage  were  numerous  and  often 
exacting.  At  the  South,  generally,  no  Indian  or  negro, 
even  if  otherwise  qualified,  could  vote.  In  at  least  two 
colonies,  Jews  could  not  vote.  The  usual  voting  age 
4 


50 


THE  MAKII^G  OF  THE  KATION 


was  twenty-one  years  ;  but  in  two  colonies  the  age* 
limit  was  twenty -four  years  ;  while  in  two  it  was  ap- 
parently fixed  below  the  standard.  Religious  qualifica- 
tions existed  in  many  colonies.  Quakers  were  excluded 
in  a  few  colonies,  and  Roman  Catholics  in  more.  Prop- 
erty qualifications  also  were  usual.  At  one  time  in  Rhode 
Island  not  less  than  £400,  or  £20  annual  income,  was 
required.  Sometimes  land — say  fifty  acres — was  neces- 
sary, with  or  without  ^^a  house  twelve  feet  square.^^  In 
other  cases  the  qualification  might  be  either  land  or 
money.  In  some  colonies  the  estate  must  be  in  fee  ;  in 
others,  an  estate  for  life  sufficed  ;  in  others  still,  an 
estate  for  the  life  of  the  yoter^s  wife  would  answer.  The 
foregoing  instances  will  give  an  idea  of  the  extent  and 
variety  of  the  qualifications  for  full  citizenship  in  the 
early  colonies.  By  the  time  the  Revolution  broke  out, 
these  had  been  not  a  little  reduced  and  simplified  ;  but 
there  remained  differences  enough  to  make  it  eminently 
desirable  that  the  Constitution  should  avoid  the  impo- 
sition of  an  uniform  rule  of  suffrage.  This  was  effected 
by  the  adoption  of  the  provision  stated  above. 


CHAPTER  IV 


RATIFICATION  AND  THE  INAUGURATION  OF  THE  GOV- 
ERNMENT 

Difficulties  Attending  Ratification — Pennsylvania  and  the  Smaller 
States  Promptly  Accept  the  Constitution — Grounds  of  Opposi- 
tion in  the  Larger  States — Absence  of  a  Bill  of  Rights — '  *  The 
Federalist" — The  Tories  Support  the  Constitution — The  Massa- 
chusetts Convention  Ratifies,  187  to  168 — Maryland  and  South 
Carolina  Join  the  Union — New  Hampshire,  the  Ninth  State, 
Accedes — The  Constitution  Formally  Accepted — Great  Impor- 
tance of  Securing,  also,  New  York  and  Virginia — The  Conven- 
tions in  those  States — The  Constitution  Fiercely  Opposed — 
General  Consent  to  the  Subsequent  Adoption  of  Amendments 
in  the  Nature  of  a  Bill  of  Rights — Virginia  and  New  York  Fi- 
nally Ratify,  the  Latter,  30  to  27 — North  Carolina  and  Rhode 
Island  Stay  Out — The  Government  Organized — George  Wash- 
%  ington  Chosen  President — John  Adams,  Vice  President — Con- 
gress Assembles,  March  4,  1789  :  No  Quorum  until  April  6th — 
Inauguration  of  Washington,  April  30th — The  Beneficent  Influ- 
ence of  Washington  in  the  Establishment  of  the  New  Govern- 
ment— Extent  of  the  United  States  :  Population — The  Western 
Colonies — The  State  of  the  Arts — Agriculture  the  Predominant 
Occupation  of  the  People — Reasons  for  the  High  Productive 
Power  of  the  United  States  :  A  Vast  Breadth  of  Virgin  Lands  ; 
Popular  Tenure  of  the  Soil  ;  the  Cultivating  Class  not  a  Peas- 
antry— The  Remarkable  Mechanical  and  Inventive  Genius  of 
the  People  :  The  Genesis  of  this  Trait  Explained. 

The  national  principle  had^  as  we  have  seen^  tri- 
umphed in  the  Convention  of  1787  ;  but  every  one  of  its 
successive  victories  had  lost  the  new  Constitution  some 
supporter  in  the  Convention ;  while^  in  the  wider  field 
of  the  country  at  large^  alike  the  concessions  made  by 
the  dominant  party  of  the  Convention  and  the  most 


U.  OF  ILL  LIB. 


52  THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


characteristic  features  which  they  introduced  into  the 
Constitution  had  alienated  large  numbers  who,  in  a  gen- 
eral way,  were  prepared  to  say  that  they  were  for  a  real 
and  permanent  union,  but  did  not  relish  one  of  exactly 
this  kind.  The  question,  whether  the  instrument  pre* 
sented  to  the  States  on  September  17,  1787,  could  possi- 
bly secure  the  ratification  of  the  needed  nine  States,  was 
"Doubts  as  to  enveloped  in  grave  doubt :  that  a  unanimous 
ratification,  ratification  could  be  obtained  no  one  prob- 
ably imagined.  It  is  related,  how  truly  one  cannot  say, 
that  Washington,  on  laying  down  his  pen  after  sign- 
ing the  Constitution,  remarked  to  those  around  him. 

Should  the  States  reject  this  excellent  Constitution, 
the  next  will  be  drawn  in  blood. 

Several  of  the  States  promptly  accepted  the  Constitu- 
tion :  Delaware,  the  smallest  State,  first  of  all.  Penn- 
The  smau  sylvania,  under  the  lead  of  James  Wilson, 
states  accede.  Contributed  largely  to  the  forma- 

tion of  the  Constitution,  came  next,  though  here  strong 
opposition  was  manifested  from  the  great  interior  high- 
land district.  Then  followed  New  Jersey,  by  a  unani 
mous  vote  ;  then  Georgia  and  Connecticut.  All  but 
one  of  the  foregoing,  it  will  be  observed,  were  among 
the  smaller  States,  to  which  an  immense  concession  had 
been  made  in  the  matter  of  equal  representation  in  the 
Senate  ;  and  which  had,  therefore,  most  to  hope  for  and 
least  to  fear  under  the  proposed  new  government.  In 
Georgia  the  argument  for  ratification  had  been  greatly 
strengthened  by  the  fact  that  the  larger  part  of  the  pres- 
ent State  was  held  by  powerful  Indian  tribes,  whose  ill- 
repressed  hostility  made  the  existence  of  an  effective 
government  very  desirable  for  the  white  inhabitants. 
Thus  far  the  work  of  ratification  had  gone  on  swim- 
mingly ;  but  all  this  proved  nothing  ;  promised  noth- 
ing.   The  real  struggle  was  to  come.    Nearly  all  the  re- 


RATIFICATION  OF  THE  CONSTITUTION 


53 


maining  States  were  doubtful.  Many  political  reasons, 
many  personal  forces,  opposed  themselves  to  further 
ratification.  The  more  important  of  these  will  be  suf- 
ficiently intimated  in  what  will  be  said  regarding  indi- 
vidual States  ;  but  one  general  ground  of  opposition  re- 
quires to  be  stated. 

Among  the  strongest  objections,  urged  sincerely  by 
some,  urged  by  others  as  a  cover  to  more  real  reasons, 
was  the  absence  from  the  Constitution  of  a  proper  Bill 
of  Eights,  that  is,  a  bodyioLexpress  provisions  protect- 
ing the  citizens  from  certain  wronsrs  and 

.  Absence  of 

abuses  which  had  been  made  very  familiar  a  b i 1 1  of 
to  the  minds  of  Americans  through  the  his- 
tory  of  the  mother  country.  The  traditions  and  modes 
of  political  thinking  among  our  people  were  such  as  to 
make  this  omission  from  the  Constitution,  first,  a  real 
grievance,  and,  secondly  and  in  a  much  higher  degree, 
a  taking  popular  objection.  The  cause  of  that  omission 
had  been  found  partly  in  the  fact  that  the  members  of 
the  Convention  had  been  engrossed  in  adjusting  the 
conflicting  claims  and  interests  of  the  different  States 
and  sections  :  of  the  small,  as  opposed  to  the  large. 
States ;  of  the  JSTorthern,  as  opposed  to  the  Southern, 
States ;  of  the  commercial,  as  opposed  to  the  planting. 
States.  In  part,  also,  the  cause  of  the  omission  of  the 
desired  guaranties  had  been  found  in  the  opposition  of 
the  Southern  States.  During  the  discussion  in  the  con- 
vention of  South  Carolina,  in  justifying  the  absence  of  a 
Bill  of  Eights,  General  C.  C.  Pinckney  said  :  Such 
bills  generally  begin  by  declaring  that  all  men  by  nature 
are  born  free.  Now,  we  should  make  that  declaration 
with  a  very  bad  grace  when  a  large  part  of  our  property 
consists  in  men  who  are  actually  born  slaves.  In  his 
Journal  of  the  Convention,^^  Mr.  Madison  gives  Mary- 
land, Virginia,  North  and  South  Carolina,  and  Georgia 


54  THE  MAKIISTG  OF  THE  NATION" 


as  voting  against  a  Bill  of  Eights.  But  although  the 
Southern  delegates  largely  took  this  position  in  the  Con- 
vention, the  absence  of  such  provisions  became  one  of 
the  chief  issues  in  the  contest  over  the  ratification,  even 
in  their  own  section.  Such  was  one  important  obstacle 
which  the  Constitution  encountered.  Nothing  could  be 
more  expressive  of  the  good  sense  and  good  feeling  of 
the  American  people  than  the  fact  that,  while  the  ab- 
sence of  a  Bill  of  Eights  came  to  be  more  and  more  gen- 
erally regretted  and  complained  of  as  the  debate  over 
ratification  progressed,  this  was  not  at  last  allowed  to 
become  a  fatal  objection.  More  and  more  it  came  to  be 
understood  and  agreed  that  the  omission  should  be  sup- 
plied subsequently  to  ratification  ;  and,  though  some  ex- 
tremists sought  to  hold  back  the  assent  of  their  States 
until  the  desired  guaranties  should  be  secured.  State 
after  State  waived  its  objections  and  accepted  the  Con- 
stitution upon  the  general  understanding  referred  to. 

The  adoption  of  the  Constitution  was  promoted,  we 
cannot  say  in  what  degree,  but  beyond  question  very 
greatly,  by  a  series  of  papers,  conceived  by  Hamilton 
and  by  him  mainly  executed,  though  with  great  assist- 
ance from  Madison  and  some  also  from  Jay,*  which  have 
-The  Feder-  ©vcr  since  been  known  as  The  Federalist,'^ 
a  body  of  essays  which,  though  written  for 
what  in  these  days  we  should  call  campaign  ^'  pur- 
poses, has  not  only  become  a  classic  in  our  national  po- 
litical literature,  but  is  the  repository  of  the  best,  and, 
apart  from  judicial  decisions,  the  most  authoritative,  ex- 
positions of  the  extensive  text  of  the  Constitution. 
That,  in  a  task  like  this,  Hamilton,  the  great  coming 
leader  of  the  Federalists,  at  least  on  the  intellectual  side, 

*  Forty-six  of  the  papers  are  attributed  to  Hamilton ;  twenty-nine  to 
Madison,  in  some  of  which  Hamilton  probably  had  a  share ;  and  five  to 
Jay. 


EATIFICATION  OF  THE  CONSTITUTION  55 


should  have  been  able  to  write  in  such  harmony  of  views 
with  Madison,  who  was  destined  to  be  Jefferson^s  chief 
lieutenant  in  the  organization  and  control  of  the  Repub- 
lican-Democratic party,  shows  how  well  the  Convention 
had  done  its  part,  in  laying  down  the  main  lines  of  the 
Constitution  ;  how  well  the  Committee  on  Detail  had 
done  its  part,  in  working  out  the  subordinate  features 
of  the  scheme  ;  how  well  the  Committee  on  Style  and 
Revision,  through  Gouverneur  Morris,  had  done  its  part, 
by  putting  the  Constitution  into  clear  and  simple  lan- 
guage ;  more  than  all,  how  closely  the  two  leading  au- 
thors of  The  Federalist  had  worked  together  at 
Philadelphia,  how  thoroughly  they  understood  each 
other's  views  and  notions,  how  strong  was  their  common 
interest  in  the  triumph  of  their  cause. 

Another  and  very  curious  feature  of  the  contest  over 
the  Constitution  deserves  to  be  mentioned.    This  was 
the  general  accession  of  the  Tories  of  the  ^^^..^^ 
Revolution  to  the  party  of  ratification.  These  port  the  con- 

^       ^  stitution. 

persons,  still  to  be  found  in  great  numbers  in 
some  States,  notably  in  Massachusetts,  New  York,  Mary- 
land, and  South  Carolina,  were  strongly  drawn  toward 
the  proposed  form  of  government  by  the  persecutions 
to  which  they  continued  to  be  subjected.  They  thought 
they  saw,  in  the  establishment  of  an  effective  govern- 
ment for  the  whole  country,  a  safeguard  against  the 
malignity  of  their  immediate  neighbors.  It  is  also  to  be 
said  that  the  Tories  comprised  many  men  of  wealth  and 
prosperous  merchants,  who  favored  an  efficient  govern- 
ment on  commercial  and  financial  grounds. 

Let  us  now  return  to  the  separate  acts  of  ratification. 
Five  States  had  accepted  the  Constitution  when  the 
Convention  met  in  Massachusetts,  to  determine  what 
the  State  whose  people  had  been  foremost  in  resistance 
to  the  encroachments  of  the  Crown  would  do  with  that 


56  THE  MAKIKG  OF  THE  NATION 


government  which  was  the  outcome  of  so  much  toil, 
treasure,  and  blood.  The  elements  here  opposed  to  the 
The  contest  Constitution  were  most  formidable.  On  the 
^^^^assachu-  side  of  ratification  were  arrayed  the  law- 
yers, the  clergy,  the  mercantile  class,  and  the 
men  of  property,  generally,  with  the  almost  unanimous 
support  of  the  officers  of  the  late  Continental  army.  All 
these  classes  believed  in  a  strong  and  efficient  govern- 
ment, which  should  pay  the  debts  of  the  Revolution, 
put  a  stop  to  paper-money,  secure  the  country  against 
domestic  disturbances,  and  make  the  nation  powerful 
at  home  and  respected  abroad.  The  Constitution  was 
opposed  very  largely  by  the  less  favored  classes  ;  by  the 
advocates  of  paper-money  ;  by  the  promoters  of  Shays^s 
Rebellion,  of  whom  a  number  found  their  way  into  the 
Convention  ;  by  some  of  the  old  Revolutionary  leaders, 
soured  at  finding  themselves  ^^back  numbers  in  the 
general  movement  of  American  life ;  by  many  small 
politicians,  who  feared  they  should  lose  influence  under 
a  really  national  government ;  by  the  delegates  from  the 
District  of  Maine,  who  were  disposed  to  hold  that  their 
chances  of  separate  Statehood  would  be  better  without 
the  new  Constitution  than  with  it ;  and,  finally,  by 
some  patriotic  and  able  men  who  sincerely  believed  that 
the  proposed  government  was  too  aristocratic  in  its  or- 
ganization, and  that  it  would  be  used  to  crush  out  the 
rights  and  interests  of  the  States,  if  not,  also,  the  per- 
sonal liberties  of  the  people. 

With  the  parties  for  and  against  ratification  thus 
made  up,  the  issue  of  the  struggle  was  looked  for  with 
intense  interest  by  the  whole  country,  particularly  in 
view  of  the  fact  that  Massachusetts  lay  between  two 
other  doubtful  States,  New  York  and  New  Hampshire. 
John  Hancock,  President  of  the  Congress  which  had 
promulgated  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  presided 


RATIFICATION  OF  THE  CONSTITUTION  57 


over  the  Massachusetts  Convention  ;  and  his  attitude 
aroused  much  apprehension.  Samuel  Adams,  the  pop- 
ular agitator  of  the  pre-Eevolutionary  period,  Masea- 
was  understood  to  be  opposed  to  ratification,  chusetts  con- 

YCUtlOIlt 

like  his  great  ally  in  those  burning  days, 
Patrick  Henry,  of  Virginia.  Elbridge  Gerry,  who,  as  a 
delegate  to  the  Philadelphia  Convention,  had  refused 
to  sign  the  Constitution,  was  also  present.  At  last,  on 
the  strength  of  nine  amendments  formally  proposed  to 
the  proposed  Constitution,  mainly  in  the  nature  of  a 
Bill  of  Eights,  the  vote  for  unconditional  ratification 
was  carried,  February  7,  1788,  by  the  small  majority  of 
187  to  168.  Thus  was  one  perilous  stage  safely  passed, 
though  by  an  escape  so  narrow  that,  even  now,  we  hold 
our  breath  in  contemplating  it. 

In  Maryland,  the  last  State  to  join  the  Confederation 
in  1781,  the  opposition  was  led  with  great  ability  and 
much  acrimony  by  Luther  Martin,  who  had  been  one  of 
the  chief  figures  of  the  Convention  ;  but  that  State,  its 
former  objections  regarding  Western  lands  having  been 
removed,  handsomely  acceded  to  the  new  form  of  govern- 
ment on  April  38th.  South  Carolina  followed  on  May 
23d,  by  a  large  majority.  Eight  States  had  now  ratified 
the  Constitution.  In  the  New  Hampshire  Maryland, 
Convention  so  doubtful,  at  first,  was  the  out-  ina!aiid*New 
look  that  the  friends  of  the  Constitution  con-  Hampshire, 
sen  ted  to  an  adjournment,  rather  than  take  the  chances 
of  an  adverse  or  of  a  too  close  vote  ;  but  the  action  of 
Massachusetts  turned  the  scale,  and  New  Hampshire  fell 
into  line  on  June  9th. 

Technically  this  completed  the  union,  since  the  rati- 
fication of  nine  States  had  been  made  sufficient,  as  be- 
tween the  States  ratifying ;  but  the  strain  and  anxiety 
were  yet  far  from  over.  AVhile  it  would  have  been  law- 
ful to  set  up  the  government  with  as  many  as  four 


58 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  ISTATIOlSr 


States  outside,  including  both  New  York  and  Virginia, 
it  would  yet  have  been  little  less  than  hopeless  to  do 
The  states  ^o.    A  government  established  under  these 

outside.  conditions  would  have  been  looked  upon 
with  the  gravest  apprehension  of  disaster.  At  least  one 
more  from  the  missing  States,  and  that  one  of  the  two 
just  named,  was,  if  not  constitutionally,  at  least  polit- 
ically, essential  to  a  fair  trial  of  the  Constitution.  All 
eyes  were  therefore  turned  to  New  York  and  Virginia, 
whose  conventions  met  during  the  month  of  June,  and 
were  for  a  few  days  simultaneously  in  session. 

In  the  latter  State  the  result  was  long  doubtful. 
Virginia  had  called  the  Convention  at  Philadelphia  ; 
The  Virginia  ^ud  it  had  been  her  delegation  which  offered 
Convention.  National  plan  of  government,  adopted  in 
preference  to  the  Federal  plan  from  New  Jersey.  Vir- 
ginia might,  therefore,  have  been  looked  to  for  an  early 
and  enthusiastic  ratification.  But,  on  the  other  hand, 
as  the  largest  State,  Virginia  had  been  deeply  alienated 
by  the  adoption  of  the  principle  of  equality  in  the  Sen- 
ate, which  placed  her  on  a  par  in  that  respect  with 
Delaware  and  Rhode  Island,  as  well  as  by  many  other 
things  which  occurred  in  the  course  of  the  Convention  : 
so  that,  in  the  result,  two  of  her  leading  delegates, 
George  Mason  and  Edmund  Randolph,  refused  to  sign 
the  Constitution.  When  that  instrument  was  laid  be- 
fore the  people,  great  popular  opposition  was  devel- 
oped. The  belief  was  expressed  that  the  navigation  of 
the  Mississippi,  in  which  Virginia,  and  especially  the 
sons  of  Virginia  across  the  mountains,  in  the  present 
State  of  Kentucky,  were  vitally  interested,  would  be 
sacrificed  to  the  commercial  selfishness  of  the  North  and 
East.  The  absence  of  a  Bill  of  Rights  was  also  made 
the  subject  of  strong  objections  ;  and,  finally,  we  have 
the  same  painful  feature  that  was  exhibited  in  Massa- 


EATIFICATION  OF  THE  CONSTITUTION  59 


chusetts,  namely,  a  great  orator  of  the  ante-revolntion- 
ary  period,  opposing  what  was  the  only  possible  fortu- 
nate issue  of  the  Eevolution.  Patrick  Henry  was  among 
the  ardent  opponents  of  the  proposed  government ;  and 
threw  himself  into  the  contest  with  all  the  vehemence 
of  his  impulsive  nature.  Fortunately,  Mr.  Kandolph 
had  repented  of  his  refusal  to  sign  the  Constitution, 
and  appeared  as  the  advocate  of  ratification. 

Mr.  Madison  was  there,  sagacious,  politic,  plausible, 
adroit,  perhaps  the  very  best  person  to  counteract  such 
opposition  as  that  of  Mr.  Henry.  He  knew  Mr.  Madi- 
his  case  better  than  any  other  man  in  the  cy^'f  the^con- 
Convention  ;  and,  though  destitute  of  elo-  stitution. 
quence,  in  the  unfortunate  American  sense  of  that  word, 
was  a  clear  reasoner  and  an  effective  debater.  The  very 
defects  alleged  by  the  opponents  of  the  Constitution 
were  artfully  wrought  by  Mr.  Madison  into  an  argu- 
ment which  made  that  instrument  appear  fair  and  ra- 
tional to  the  average  mind.^^  The  proposed  govern- 
ment, he  said,  was  neither  federal  nor  national  ;  it  had 
a  mixed  character,  in  some  parts  federal,  in  others  na- 
tional. The  parties  to  the  government  would  be  the 
people  ;  but  the  people  as  composing  thirteen  sover- 
eignties, not  as  composing  one  great  society.  Its  mixed 
character  is  also  shown  by  the  mode  of  ratification  pre- 
scribed. If  purely  national,  the  assent  of  a  popular 
majority  would  suffice.  In  fact,  it  must  be  adopted  by 
the  States  ;  yet  within  each  State  it  is  not  the  State 
legislature,  but  a  convention  of  the  people,  which  gives 
assent.  The  mode  of  possible  amendment  also  shows 
that  mixed  character.  A  majority  of  the  States  cannot 
amend  the  Constitution,  which  is  a  departure  from  a 
national  plan.  Nor  is  the  assent  of  all  the  States  nec- 
essary for  amendment,  which  is  a  departure  from  the 
federal  plan.    The  rule  of  representation,  finally,  shows 


60 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


the  mixed  character  of  the  new  government,  since  the 
members  of  the  first  house  are  to  be  in  proportion  to 
population,  which  is  a  recognition  of  the  national  char- 
acter ;  while  the  members  of  the  second  house  are  to  be 
elected  by  the  States  in  their  equal  capacity,  which  is  a 
recognition  of  the  federal  character.  This  complex 
character,  Mr.  Madison  urged,  was  necessary  in  order  to 
secure  at  once  power  and  liberty  ;  and  it  was  hoped 
thereby  to  exclude  the  evils  of  absolute  consolidation  on 
the  one  side,  and  those  of  mere  confederation  on  the 
other.  To  a  people  of  English  blood  such  a  line  of 
argument  could  not  fail  to  commend  itself. 

In  Virginia,  as  in  almost  every  other  State,  the  prog-  ■* 
ress  of  the  discussion  steadily  strengthened  the  friends 
of  the  Constitution  ;  and  at  last,  on  June  25th,  the  Con- 
vention, by  a  small  majority,  gave  in  the  adhesion  of 
that  State.  But  it  was  still  exceedingly  important  to 
secure  New  York,  alike  on  account  of  its  geographical 
position,  its  commercial  importance,  and  the  distin- 
guished character  of  its  political  leaders.  The  Conven- 
tion here  met  on  June  17th,  and  the  sreat 

The  New  . 

YorkOonven-  debate  was  at  once  opened.  Hamilton  ad- 
vocated  ratification  with  all  his  marvellous 
eloquence  and  personal  influence.  He  was  ably  sec- 
onded by  Jay  and  Livingston.  The  opposition  was  led 
by  Melancthon  Smith,  no  unworthy  antagonist,  sup- 
ported by  Yates  and  Lansing,  who  had  been  Hamilton^'s 
colleagues  at  Philadelphia,  and  had  refused  to  sign  the 
Constitution.  More,  perhaps,  than  all,  George  Clinton, 
the  War  Governor  of  New  York,  was  a  bitter  and  seem- 
ingly irreconcilable  opponent  of  the  Constitution.  But 
the  friends  of  ratification  now  enjoyed  one  tremendous 
advantage.  So  many  States  had  already  acceded  that  it 
was  beyond  a  doubt  the  necessary  number  would  soon 
be  had  to  inaugurate  the  new  Government.    It  was, 


INAUGURATIOISr  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT  61 


therefore,  pertinent  to  ask — and  the  question  was  put 
with  overwhelming  force — not,  do  you  altogether  like 
the  Constitution  ?  but,  is  New  York  to  stay  out  of  the 
Union  and  become  a  foreign  State  ?  Soon  arrived  news 
that  New  Hampshire  had  joined,  the  ninth  State.  The 
debate  still  continued,  but  the  tone  of  discussion  was 
somewhat  changed.  The  question  now  was,  not  of  adop- 
tion or  rejection,  but  of  securing  amendments.  The 
friends  of  ratification  were  ready  to  afford  every  assur- 
ance that  amendments  should  be  passed  as  soon  as  the 
new  government  came  into  operation.  The  opponents 
still  held  out  for  conditional  ratification  or  for  postpone- 
ment pending  amendment ;  but  their  strength  was  con- 
tinually failing,  alike  under  the  unceasing  assaults  of 
the  friends  of  the  Constitution  and  under  the  relentless 
logic  of  events.  At  last,  by  the  slow  despatches  of  those 
days,  came  the  news  that  Virginia  had  joined.  The 
opposition  vainly  tried  to  keep  up  the  fight.  Though 
they  started  out  with  claiming  forty-six  of  the  sixty- 
five  delegates,  they  were  clearly  beaten.  After  some 
more  tedious  weeks  spent  upon  proposals  to  amend,  rat- 

/  ification  was  finally  carried  on  July  26th,  though  only  by 
a  majority  of  thirty  to  twenty-seven  ;  and  the  great  con- 
stitutional battle  was  won. 
North  Carolina  and  Khode  Island  still  remained  out- 

'  side.  It  was,  however,  so  desirable  that  these  should  be 
won  over,  and  withal  so  evident  that  they  r^^^  recaici- 
must  sooner  or  later  come  in,  that,  though 
they  were  technically  foreign  States,  their  vessels  were 
for  the  present  put  on  the  same  terms  as  regards  tonnage 
duties  with  those  of  the  United  States  ;  and  all  goods,  the 
growth  or  manufacture  of  these  States,  were  exempted 
from  import  duties.  Without  waiting  for  their  acces- 
sion, the  eleven  States  already  in  the  Union  proceeded  to 
organize  the  Government  under  the  Constitution.  The 


62 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


first  Wednesday  in  January,  1789,  was  fixed  for  choice 
of  presidential  electors  ;  the  first  Wednesday  in  February 
for  their  balloting  ;  the  first  Wednesday  in  March,  the 
4th,  for  inaugurating  proceedings  under  the  Constitution. 

For  the  presidency  no  name  but  that  of  Washington 
had  been  suggested  or  was  considered  by  the  electors. 

Washington  generally  been  agreed  that  John 

chosen  Presi-  Adams,  of  Massachusetts,  should,  both  from 
considerations  of  '^Hocality^^  (so  potent  in 
American  political  affairs)  and  also  with  reference  to  his 
long  and  eminent  services  to  the  cause  of  American  in- 
dependence, before  and  during  the  Kevolution,  be  chosen 
Vice-President ;  *  but  in  the  electoral  colleges  of  the  sev- 
eral States  there  was  a  wide  scattering  of  the  votes  for 
this  office  ;  and  Mr.  Adams  actually  came  in  by  one  less 
than  a  majority  of  the  total  vote.  For  this  Mr.  Adams 
and  his  friends  blamed  Hamilton,  charging  that  the  re- 
sult had  been  effected  by  his  intrigues,  for  the  purpose 
of  impairing  Mr.  Adamses  prestige  and  influence.  Con- 
gress assembled,  pursuant  to  appointment,  at  New  York, 
on  March  4,  1789  ;  but  such  were  the  vicious  traditions 
of  the  old  Confederation,  that  a  quorum  of  both  houses 
could  not  be  obtained  for  several  weeks.  The  States 
most  convenient,^'' wrote  Mr.  Madison,  "^^are  among  the 
defaulters.  At  last,  on  April  6th,  members  had  ar- 
rived in  sufiicient  numbers  to  transact  business.  On 
April  30th  the  President  was  inaugurated.  The  elec- 
tion of  Washington  had  been,  as  we  have  said,  unani- 
mous. Even  if  party  spirit  had  already  arisen,  it  would 
have  been  hushed  in  that  majestic  presence.  Assuredly 
no  man  was  ever  more  truly  first  in  war,  first  in  peace, 
and  first  in  the  hearts  of  his  countrymen.      The  grate- 

*  The  peculiar  and  highly  objectionable  method  of  choosing  the  Vice- 
President,  under  the  Constitution  as  it  went  into  operation,  will  be  de- 
scribed in  connection  with  the  third  presidential  election. 


INAUGUKATION  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT  63 

ful  nation  recognized  him  as  its  saviour  in  a  long  and 
wasting  war  ;  the  new  Constitution,  inaugurated  with  so 
many  hopes,  was  in  no  small  measure  due  to  his  influ- 
ence. John  Adams  said  of  him  :  Were  I  blessed  with 
powers  to  do  justice  to  his  character,  it  would  be  impos- 
sible to  increase  the  confidence  and  affection  of  his  coun- 
try or  to  make  the  smallest  additions  to  his  glory.  If 
we  look  over  the  catalogue  of  the  first  magistrates  of  na- 
tions, whether  they  have  been  denominated  presidents 
or  consuls,  kings  or  princes,  where  should  we  find  one 
whose  commanding  talents  and  virtues,  whose  over- 
ruling good  fortune  have  so  completely  united  all  hearts 
and  voices  in  his  favor  ;  who  enjoyed  the  esteem  and 
admiration  of  foreign  nations  and  fellow-citizens  with 
equal  unanimity. The  closing  sentiment  of  this  ex- 
tract is  unqualifiedly  just.  It  is  not  American  partial- 
ity which  exalts  the  name  of  Washington.  To-day  all 
nations  revere  our  first  President  as  the  finest  and  no- 
blest character  of  political  Jiistory.  But,  while  the  po- 
sition and  prestige  of  Washington  were  such  as  to  have 
commanded  for  him  the  election  without  reference  to 
political  opinions  or  predilections,  parties  could  not  be 
said  to  exist.  It  was  not  doubtful  that  they  would  soon 
arise  ;  nay,  sentiments  of  attachment  or  repugnance  had 
already  pretty  clearly  marked  out  those  who  would  be 
found  on  one  side  and  on  the  other  of  the  political  divis- 
ion when  it  should  take  place ;  but  as  yet  the  questions 
of  the  national  life  had  not  come  into  shape,  and  all 
sections  and  classes,  including  men  of  all  tastes  and  pre- 
dilections, stood  in  suspense  until  the  issues  of  our  pol- 
itics should  be  defined. 

Before  proceeding  to  the  administration  of  Washington, 
let  us  for  a  moment  consider  the  extent  and  population  * 

*  In  the  statistics  immediately  following  we  use  the  figures  of  the  first 
census,  taken  in  1790. 


64 


THE  MAKING  OP  THE  NATION 


of  the  country.  The  States  were  thirteen  in  number. 
Of  these,  two  still  remained  out — North  Carolina,  with 
Extent  and  ^  population  of  393,751  ;  Ehode  Island, 
tTeTnUed  ^ith  68,825.  The  geographical  relations 
states.  of  these  states,  however,  were  sufficient  to 
give  assurance  of  their  ultimate  accession  to  the  Union, 
which,  in  that  case,  would  embrace  a  population  of 
3,929,214.  Vermont,  with  35,691,  was,  formally,  a 
part  of  New  York  ;  Maine,  with  96,540,  a  part  of 
Massachusetts.  With  the  exception  of  about  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty-five  thousand  souls,  all  the  population 
was  found  east  of  the  Appalachian  chain.  Two  im- 
portant colonies  only  had  been  planted  at  the  West, 
upon  territory  belonging  to  Virginia  and  North  Caro- 
lina. Of  these,  the  District  of  Kentucky  had  a  popula- 
tion of  73,677.  Tennessee  had  35,691  inhabitants. 
Central  New  York  was  still  an  almost  unbroken  wil- 
derness, as  was  Western  Pennsylvania,  though  some  not 
inconsiderable  settlements  l^ad  been  made  around  the 
junction  of  the  Allegheny  and  Monongahela  rivers. 
At  the  South,  the  line  of  white  occupation  was  almost 
parallel  to  the  Savannah  Kiver,  and  distant  therefrom 
a  short  distance  ;  the  remainder  of  the  State  of  Georgia 
was  occupied  by  powerful  and  not  over-friendly  Ind- 
ian tribes.  The  population  of  Philadelphia  was  42,- 
520  ;  of  New  York,  33,131;  of  Boston,  18,038;  of 
Charleston,  16,359  ;  of  Baltimore,  13,503  ;  of  Richmond, 
3,761.  The  total  value  of  the  exports  and  of  the  im- 
ports of  the  United  States  was  about  twenty  million 
dollars  each.  The  shipment  of  American  cotton  had  as 
yet  hardly  begun,  the  export  of  1791  only  reaching  19,200 
pounds,  the  equivalent  of  forty-eight  modern  bales. 
The  exports  from  the  Southern  States  at  this  time  were 
mainly  tobacco  and  rice,  with  some  indigo,  and  also 
naval  stores, viz.,  tar,  pitch,  and  turpentine. 


INAUGURATION  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT  65 


As  we  begin  this  story  of  the  life  of  the  American 
nation  during  the  first  years  of  its  accomplished  and  rec- 
ognized independence,  it  is  appropriate  to  state  of  the 
call  the  reader^s  attention  to  the  fact  that  he 
is  contemplating  the  experiences  of  a  people  born,  bred, 
and  living  under  conditions,  many  of  them  now  gone 
forever ;  belonging  to  a  time  earlier  by  a  century  than 
our  own  ;  a  time  when  arts  familiar  to  us  were  unknown 
and  unthought  of  ;  when  chemistry  had  as  yet  wrought 
not  one  of  its  marvels,*  the  discovery  of  oxygen,  by 
Priestley,  having  taken  place  near  the  beginning  of  our 
narrative  ;  when  electricity  was  recognized  only  through 
its  terrific  and  destructive  agency  as  lightning  ;  when 
biology,  with  its  wondrous  revelations  of  natural  life 
and  its  not  less  startling  lights  cast  on  social  and  politi- 
cal philosophy,  was  still  deeply  buried  under  ignorance, 
prejudice,  and  superstition.  It  was  an  age  in  which 
many  of  the  ordinary  phenomena  of  physics  met  the  eye 
of  peasant  and  gentleman,  alike,  either  as  miracles,  due 
to  direct,  immediate,  particular  intervention  of  divine 
power,  or  as  matters  of  course,  as  completely  outside  the 
relations  of  cause  and  effect  as  they  appear  to  the  ox  in 
the  furrow.  Though  the  expansive  power  of  steam  had 
been  already  adapted  in  some  small  measure  to  forms  of 
manufacture  then  practically  unknown  in  the  United 
States,  it  had  not  yet  been  applied  to  transportation, 
either  by  land  or  by  water.  In  agriculture  the  imple- 
ments were  hardly  a  whit  improved  from  those  in  use 
twenty-five  hundred  years  before.  Medicine,  though 
stripped  of  its  mediaeval  elements  of  charlatanry  and 
imposture,  was  still  barbarous  in  its  cautery,  its  surgery, 
its  blood-letting,  its  dosing.  History  as  a  science  was 
not  known  ;  what  was  called  by  that  name  being  but  a 
collection  of  fables,  of  heroic  and  sentimental  legends, 

*  Perhaps  we  ought  to  say,  except  gunpowder. 
5 


66 


THE  MAKIISrG  OF  THE  NATIOIT 


of  unauthenticated  traditions,  of  records  half-read  or 
misread.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  political  philosophy, 
which  in  logical  order  should  have  awaited  the  birth  of 
history,  had  already  attained  a  robust  manhood,  through 
the  splendid  virile  efforts  of  the  English,  French,  and 
German  peoples  to  achieve  a  practical  political  freedom ; 
and  the  art  of  constructing  constitutions  and  framing 
laws  had  been  developed  to  great  perfection  through  er- 
rors and  mistakes  innumerable  and  of  infinite  conse- 
quence to  untold  numbers,  through  speculations  daring 
and  profound,  through  experiments  in  which  the  lives 
of  millions  had  been  distilled  into  policies. 

Agriculture  was  the  chief  occupation  in  the  United 
States  at  the  achievement  of  independence ;  and  even 
with  the  rude  implements  and  the  defective  knowledge 
of  the  time,  our  people  had,  through  certain  fortunate 
conditions,  and  also  through  the  possession  of  a  faculty 
which,  in  degree  and  almost  in  kind,  distinguishes  them 
from  all  other  peoples  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  attained 
a  marvellous  productive  power.  The  fortunate  condi- 
c  a  use  8  of  tions  referred  to  were,  first,  a  vast  breadth  of 
able^  pnfduc-  virgin  lands,  which  required  only  the  culti- 
A^merTca^n  vatiou  of  the  bcst  soils,  and,  even  upon  these, 
agriculture,  exempted  the  occupier  from  the  tremendous 
tax  which,  in  the  agriculture  of  all  old  countries,  has 
every  year  to  be  paid  to  keep  up  the  fertility  of  the 
land ;  secondly,  the  popular  tenure  of  the  soil  and  excel- 
lent laws  for  the  registration  of  titles  and  the  transfer  of 
real  property ;  and,  thirdly,  the  fact  that  the  agricult- 
ural class,  unlike  the  body  of  cultivators  in  every  coun- 
try of  Europe,  except  only  Switzerland  and  perhaps  also 
Scotland,  had  never  constituted  a  peasantry,  in  any 
proper  sense  of  that  term.  The  men  who  tilled  the  soil 
here  were  the  same  kind  of  men,  precisely,  as  those  who 
filled  the  professions  or  were  engaged  in  commercial  or 


INAUGUKATIO:^  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT  67 


mechanical  pursuits.  Of  two  sons  of  the  same  mother 
one  became  a  lawyer^  perhaps  a  judge,  or  went  down  to 
the  city  and  became  a  merchant,  or  gave  himself  to  po- 
litical affairs  and  became  a  governor  or  a  member  of 
Congress.  The  other  stayed  upon  the  ancestral  home- 
stead, or  made  a  new  one  for  himself  and  his  children 
out  of  the  public  domain  further  west,  remaining 
through  his  life  a  plain,  hard  -  working  farmer.  This 
state  of  things  made  American  to  differ  from  European 
agriculture  by  a  wide  interval.  There  was  then  no  other 
country  in  the  world,  there  is  now  no  other  considerable 
country,  where  equal  mental  activity  and  alertness  have 
been  applied  to  the  soil  as  to  trade  and  industry. 

But  more  even  than  the  total  effect  of  the  fortunate 
conditions  which  have  been  indicated,  American  agri- 
culture in  those  days  owed  its  really  remarkable  pro- 
ductive power  to  a  special,  almost  a  technical,  quality 
of  our  people,  namely,  mechanical  insight  and  invention. 
It  is  difficult  to  write  of  this  subject  with- 
out  producing  the  impression  of  exaggera- 
tion.  There  is  only  one  nation  in  the  world  American  peo- 
to  the  mass  of  whose  population  this  form 
of  genius  can  be  attributed.  That  nation  is  our  own. 
In  other  countries  it  is  only  picked  men,  a  select  few, 
who  possess  mechanical  insight  and  aptitude,  the  pow- 
er of  instantaneously,  because  instinctively,  seizing  up- 
on mechanical  relations,  together  with  a  high  degree 
of  native  efficiency  in  the  use  of  tools.  With  us  the 
rule  is  the  other  way  :  there  are  few  Americans  of 
American  stock,  at  least  throughout  the  Northern 
States,  who  have  not  mechanical  insight  and  aptitude 
in  a  measure  which  elsewhere  would  make  them  marked 
men.    As  a  great  organ  of  English  opinion  has  said. 

Invention  is  a  normal  function  of  the  American 
brain.    The  American  invents  as  the  Greek  chiselled, 


68 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


as  the  Venetian  painted,  as  the  modern  Italian  sings/' 
By  some  persons  the  wonderful  mechanical  develop- 
ments of  our  history  have  been  attributed  to  our  pat- 
ent laws.  But  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  power 
to  invent  was  created  altogether  irrespective  of  and  long 
antecedently  to  that  system  of  legislation.  It  was  with 
us  an  inheritance  ;  and  it  is  fairly  a  question  whether 
this  inheritance  has  not  been  impaired  rather  than  in- 
creased during  the  period  covered  by  our  patent  laws. 

Why  was  it  that  the  American  of  the  time  of  which  we 
write  possessed  this  quality  in  such  a  remarkable  de- 
gree ?  It  was  not  because  of  long  training  in  manu- 
factures. On  the  contrary,  the  jealous  and  repressive 
Not  due  to  policy  of  England  had  prevented  the  de- 
manufactures,  yelopment  of  technical  industry.  In  1699 
Parliament  declared  that  no  wool,  yarn,  or  woollen 
manufactures  of  their  American  plantations  should  be 
shipped,  or  even  laden  in  order  to  be  transported  from 
thence  to  any  place  whatsoever.  In  1719  the  House 
of  Commons  declared  that  the  erecting  of  manufactures 
in  the  colonies  tended  to  lessen  their  dependence  on 
Great  Britain.  In  1731,  in  consequence  of  numerous 
complaints  from  interested  persons,  among  whom  the 
London  Company  of  Hatters  were  conspicuous.  Par- 
liament directed  the  Board  of  Trade  to  inquire  and 
report  with  respect  to  laws  made,  manufactures  set  up, 
or  trade  carried  on  detrimental  to  the  trade,  manu- 
factures, or  navigation  of  the  mother  country.  The 
immediate  outcome  of  this  investigation  was  an  Act  of 
Parliament,  in  1732,  which  not  only  prohibited  the  ex- 
port of  colonial  hats  to  a  foreign  port,  but  forbade, 
under  severe  penalties,  their  transportation  from  one 
British  plantation  to  another.  Eighteen  years  later, 
the  griefs  of  another  body  of  British  manfacturers 
called  for  remedy  from  Parliament ;  and  an  act  of 


INAUGURATIOIT  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT 


69 


1750  prohibited  the  erection  or  continuance  of  any  mill 
or  other  engine  for  slitting  or  rolling  iron,  or  any 
plating  forge  to  work  with  a  tilt-hammer,  or  any  fur- 
nace for  making  steel,  throughout  the  colonies.  And 
every  such  mill,  engine,  forge,  or  furnace  was  de- 
clared to  be  a  common  nuisance  ; "  and  colonial  gov- 
ernors were  required  to  cause  the  same  to  be  abated/^ 
But  while  the  Americans  of  the  days  before  the  Eevo- 
lution  were  thus  forbidden  to  practise  any  branch  of  in- 
dustry which  might  interfere  with  the  market  for  Brit- 
ish produce,  the  foundations  of  future  greatness  were 
being  laid  where  the  power  of  Parliament  and  all  the 
armies  of  the  king  could  not  reach  them.  In  a  very  high 
sense,  the  history  of  American  manufactures  reaches 
back  beyond  the  Eevolution,  for  it  was  in  that  period 
that  the  peculiar  industrial  character  of  our  people  was 
developed. 

In  inquiring  into  the  genesis  of  this  truly  national 
trait  we  note,  first,  that  the  country  was  settled  pre- 
dominantly by  men  of  the  great  inventive  Genesis  of 
Teutonic  race  ;  and  that,  of  this  race,  it  was 
the  most  ingenious  branch,  the  English,  which  fur- 
nished by  far  the  largest  part  of  the  population  of  the 
Atlantic  coast.  Secondly,  the  early  settlers  constituted, 
in  the  main,  a  picked  population.  The  possibilities  of 
improvement  which  reside  in  breeding  from  the  higher, 
stronger,  more  alert,  and  aggressive  individuals  of  a 
species  are  well  recognized  in  the  case  of  the  domestic 
animals  ;  but  there  have  been  few  opportunities  for  ob- 
taining a  measure  of  the  effect  that  could  be  produced 
upon  the  human  race,  by  excluding  from  propagation 
the  weak,  the  vicious,  the  cowardly,  the  effeminate, 
persons  of  dwarfed  stature,  of  tainted  blood,  or  of  im- 
perfect organization.  The  inhabitants  of  the  English 
colonies,  especially  in  New  England,  constituted  a  popu- 


70  THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


lation  which  was  more  truly  selected,  in  the  respects 
of  mental  vigor,  intellectual  inquisitiveness,  enterprise, 
and  self-reliance  than  any  other  considerable  popula- 
tion which  history  knows.  Thirdly,  upon  a  com- 
munity thus  constituted  were  laid  the  severe  require- 
ments of  existence  under  an  exceptionally  rigorous 
climate.  The  first  settlers  brought  with  them  from  the 
old  country  all  the  desires,  tastes,  and  ambitions  proper 
to  a  highly  advanced  society ;  while  yet  there  was  but 
small  means  for  their  gratification.  It  was  not,  at 
least  after  the  first  few  winters,  the  dread  of  physical 
privation,  but  wants  of  the  higher  nature,  which  af- 
forded the  most  acute  stimulus  to  the  scheming,  de- 
vising, calculating  faculty  in  early  American  life,  out  of 
which  in  the  course  of  generations  was  developed  that 
inventive  power  of  which  we  write.  To  make  shifts  ;  to 
save  time  ;  to  shorten  labor  ;  to  search  out  substitutes 
for  what  was  inaccessible  or  costly  ;  to  cut  corners  and 
break  through  barriers  in  reaching  an  object ;  to  force 
one  tool  to  serve  three  or  four  uses,  and  to  compel  re- 
fractory or  inappropriate  material  to  answer  urgent 
needs  —  this  was  the  constant  occupation  of  our  an- 
cestors. Life  was  no  routine,  work  was  no  routine,  to 
them,  as  it  is  to  the  peasantry  of  every  country  of 
Europe,  as  it  is  fast  coming  to  be  among  us.  Then, 
everywhere  and  at  all  times,  it  was  possible,  by  thought 
and  care  and  pains,  to  save  something  from  labor,  to  add 
something  to  comfort  and  social  decency.  Originality 
of  conception,  boldness  in  framing  expedients,  and 
fertility  of  resource  grew  by  constant  exercise  in  father 
and  mother,  and  were  transmitted  with  increasing  force 
to  sons  and  daughters,  until  invention  came  to  be  a 
normal  function  of  the  American  brain,^^  the  American 
inventing  as  the  Greek  chiselled,  as  the  Venetian 
painted,  as  the  Italian  sings. 


INAUGURATION  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT  71 


This  wide  popular  appreciation  of  mechanical  forces 
and  relations  was  later  to  constitute  a  most  important 
element  in  the  development  of  American  manufactures  ; 
but  down  to  the  time  of  which  we  are  writing  it  had 
been  mainly  applied  in  promoting  the  rapid,  effective 
settlement  of  the  country  and  in  increasing  the  pro- 
ductive power  of  the  American  farmer.  It  was  not 
merely  or  mainly  that  the  mechanical  genius  of  the 
whole  people  secured  the  progressive  improvement  of 
all  the  known  tools  and  implements  of  husbandry,  so 
that  the  American  axe,  the  American  spade  and  shovel, 
the  American  plough,  and  the  American  farm-wagon 
early  became  the  best  of  their  kind  in  the  world,  being 
little  less  than  marvels  of  combined  lightness,  efficiency, 
and  strength.  It  was  not  merely  or  mainly  that  this 
mechanical  genius  of  the  whole  people  gave  the  widest 
possible,  indeed  a  universal,  application  of  jj^^gj^^jg 
every  agricultural  tool,  improvement,  and  in-  mechanical 
vention  to  its  appropriate  work,  though  this  Imerican  &g- 
constituted  an  enormous  advantage.  ^^Ex- 
perienced  mechanicians,^^  says  Professor  Hearn,  assert 
that,  notwithstanding  the  progress  of  machinery  in 
agriculture,  there  is  probably  as  much  sound,  practical, 
labor-saving  invention  and  machinery  unused  as  there 
is  used ;  and  that  it  is  unused  solely  in  consequence  of 
the  ignorance  and  incompetency  of  the  working  peo- 
ple. Such  a  remark  would  utterly  fail  of  significance 
if  applied  to  the  United  States  in  the  time  of  which  we 
are  writing.  It  was  because  mechanical  insight  and 
aptitude  were  found  throughout  the  whole  mass  of  the 
American  people,  that  every  product  of  invention  and 
skill  was  speedily  made  of  service  on  petty  farms  all 
over  the  land,  even  in  the  most  remote  districts. 

But  it  was  neither  through  the  invention  and  im- 
provement of  agricultural  tools  and  implements,  nor 


72 


THE  MAKIN-G  OF  THE  NATIOIS" 


through  the  wide  application  of  every  such  invention 
or  improvement^  that  the  peculiar  and  extraordinary 
mechanical  genius  of  the  American  people  made  its 
largest  contribution  toward  increasing  the  national 
capacity  for  agricultural  production.  In  the  daily  use 
of  this  faculty  throughout  the  pioneer  period,  and  in 
some  degree  through  every  subsequent  stage  of  settle- 
ment and  cultivation,  the  American  farmer,  a  natural 
Influence  of  "^^^hanic  and  a  natural  engineer,  derived 
mechanical  from  this  sourcc  an  advantas^e  beyond  estima- 

genius  in  pro-    .  .  .       i  •  i    ,  i        .  a 

moting  settle-  tion.  The  way  m  which  the  pioneer  of  New 
England  birth  or  blood,  stopping  his  cattle  in 
the  wilderness,  and  tumbling  axe  and  spade,  bundles  and 
barrels  out  upon  the  unbroken  ground,  set  about  the  task 
of  providing  shelter  for  his  children  and  his  animals, 
clearing  the  ground  and  getting  a  first  crop  out  of  the 
soil,  was  not  admirable  merely  as  an  exhibition  of  cour- 
age, faith,  and  enterprise,  but,  if  we  look  at  the  results 
accomplished  for  the  time  and  labor  expended,  it  con- 
stitutes a  triumph  of  mechanical,  we  might  fairly  say  of 
engineering  genius.  We  shall  have  occasion  at  a  later 
period  to  refer  again  to  this  quality  of  the  American 
people  as  promoting,  and  indeed  alone  making  possible, 
the  extraordinary  progress  of  population  westward  over 
new  lands,  enabling  vast  tracts  to  be  brought  yearly 
within  the  frontier  of  settlement,  and  building  up  em- 
pires in  a  decade.  At  present  we  make  use  of  it  mainly 
as  explaining  the  high  degree  of  comfort,  and  even  of 
comparative  luxury,  in  which  our  people  lived  within 
their  more  familiar  seats.  Beside  any  other  agricultural 
population  on  the  globe,  the  Americans  of  the  close  of 
the  last  century  were  rich  and  prosperous.  The  excep- 
tions to  agriculture  as  the  general  occupation  of  the 
time  were  found  in  the  commerce  of  New  York  and  in 
the  commerce  and  fisheries  of  New  England. 


CHAPTEE  V 


WASHINGTON'S  FIRST  TERM 

A.cts  and  Events  Completing  the  Union  and  Closing  the  Career  of 
the  Confederation — The  Accession  of  North  Carolina  and 
Rhode  Island — The  first  Ten  Amendments  to  the  Constitution 
— The  Funding  of  the  Debts  of  the  Confederation  and  the  As- 
sumption of  State  Debts — The  other  Financial  Measures  of 
Washington's  First  Term— The  Mint — The  National  Bank — 
Tonnage  Duties — Customs  Duties— Excise  Duties— Great  Oppo- 
sition to  the  Bank — The  Division  of  the  Cabinet — The  Consti- 
tutional Doctrine  of  Implied  Powers — Excise  Duties  fiercely 
Antagonized  in  Congress — Mr.  Jefferson  takes  the  Lead  in  Op- 
position— Unpopularity  of  the  Whiskey  Tax — Special  Reasons 
therefor. 

The  acts  and  events  of  Washington's  first  term  will 
not  be  considered  in  chronological  order^  except  so  far 
as  the  succession  of  one  upon  another  was  significant ; 
but  will  be  grouped  according  to  essential  relations^  or 
for  the  greater  convenience  of  consideration  or  recol- 
lection. And  first  let  us  speak  of  those  which  may  be 
regarded  as  completing  the  Union  of  the  States  and 
closing  the  career  of  the  antecedent  Confederation. 
Most  important  of  these  was  the  accession  of  North 
Carolina  and  Ehode  Island.  The  causes  of  Accession 
delay  in  these  States  need  not  be  dwelt  upon,  fina'^^and 
In  Rhode  Island  much  of  the  opposition  had  island, 
arisen  from  the  paper-money  party,  although  a  curious 
conservatism,  characteristic  of  the  people  of  this  State, 
and  due  to  causes  appearing  in  the  course  of  its  history, 
has  also  been  adduced  in  explanation.    In  North  Caro- 


74 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


lina  Mr.  Madison  attributed  the  opposition  to  ^^the  in- 
fluence of  the  minority  in  Virginia  which  lies  mostly  in 
the  southern  part  of  the  State  and  to  the  management 
of  its  leader/^  The  leader  referred  to  was  Patrick 
Henry,  who  had  with  all  his  soul  resisted  ratification 
in  his  own  State,  and  whose  influence  was  very  great 
throughout  the  parts  of  North  Carolina  contiguous  to 
his  own  home.  The  opposition  is  also  largely  attributed 
to  a  fear  that  the  free  navigation  of  the  Mississippi,  in 
which  the  Staters  western  colony,  Tennessee,  was  vitally 
interested,  would  be  sacrificed  under  the  new  govern- 
ment. It  has  been  stated  that  the  first  Congress  of  the 
Union  kept  open  a  place  for  the  two  recusant  States, 
going  so  far  as  to  admit  their  ships  and  productions 
to  equal  benefits  with  those  of  other  States.  North 
Carolina  succumbed  on  November  21,  1789.  Ehode 
Island  came  in  on  May  29,  1790. 

It  was  shown  that  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution 
was  impeded,  if  not  indeed  gravely  imperilled,  by  the 

Amendment  absence  of  a  Bill  of  Eights.  A  few  of  the 
tution.  ^  features  proper  to  such  a  bill  had,  it  is  true, 
been  incorporated  in  the  Constitution — such  as  the 
provision  against  the  extension  of  attaint  beyond  the 
offending  person,  even  by  sentence  of  court ;  the  im- 
munity of  senators  and  representatives  for  speech  or 
debate ;  the  prohibition  of  the  suspension  of  habeas 
corpus  in  times  of  peace  and  order  ;  the  prohibition  of 
ex  post  facto  laws  and  legislative  bills  of  attainder  ;  the 
requirement  of  trial  for  offences  to  be  held  in  the  State 
or  district  where  the  offences  were  committed ;  the 
definition  given  to  treason,  and  the  limitation  placed 
upon  the  evidence  necessary  to  convict  of  this  crime. 
But  all  these  together  fell  far  short  of  making  up  what 
was  deemed  essential  to  the  due  security  of  popular 
rights  and  personal  liberty.    We  have  already  said  that 


WASHINGTON'S  FIRST  TERM 


75 


by  many  this  defect  was  considered  an  insuperable  ob- 
jection, some  of  the  State  conventions  seeming  prepared 
to  make  the  incorporation  of  such  provisions  a  condi- 
tion of  acceptance,  or  even  to  postpone  action  altogether 
until  this  should  have  been  effected  ;  but  that,  as  the 
great  debate  went  on  all  over  the  land,  it  became  so 
generally  conceded  that  the  necessary  amendments  would 
be  proposed  and  ratified  that  the  most  backward  were 
at  last  satisfied  they  might  safely  leave  the  matter  to 
subsequent  action.  That  trust  was  not  misplaced. 
Among  the  acts  of  the  first  Congress  was  the  submission 
of  twelve  amendments,  of  which  ten  were  ratified  by 
the  requisite  three-fourths  of  the  States.  Of  the  two 
which  were  rejected,  the  first  established  limits  within 
which  Congress  mighty  reapportion  the  membership  of 
the  House  of  Eepresentatives.  The  second  prohibited 
any  cliange  in  the  compensation  of  members  of  Congress 
until  an  election  of  Representatives  should  have  inter- 
V^.ed,  a  provision,  which,  if  adopted,  would  have  pre- 
vented the  several  back-pay  scandals  of  our  history. 
The  amendments  adopted  provided,  in  effect, 

(Article  1.)  That  Congress  should  make  no  law  re- 
specting an  establishment  of  religion  or  prohibiting  the 
free  exercise  thereof  ;  or  abridging  the  free-  The  ten 
dom  of  speech  or  the  press,  or  the  right  of  Amendments, 
the  people  peaceably  to  assemble  and  petition  for  the  re- 
dress of  grievances. 

(Article  2.)  That  the  right  of  the  people  to  keep  and 
bear  arms  should  not  be  infringed. 

(Article  3.)  That  no  soldier  should  in  time  of  peace 
be  quartered  in  any  house  without  the  consent  of  the 
owner  ;  or  in  time  of  war,  except  in  a  manner  prescribed 
by  law. 

(Article  4.)  That  the  right  of  the  people  to  be  se- 
cure in  their  persons,  houses,  papers,  and  effects,  against 


76 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


unwarrantable  searches  and  seizures  should  not  be  vio- 
lated ;  and  that  no  warrant  should  issue  except  for  prob- 
able cause,  supported  by  oath  or  affirmation,  and  par- 
ticularly describing  the  places  to  be  searched  and  the 
persons  or  things  to  be  seized. 

(Article  5.)  That  no  person  should  be  held  to  answer 
for  a  capital  or  otherwise  infamous  crime  unless  upon  the 
presentment  or  indictment  of  a  grand  jury,  except  in 
cases  arising  in  the  land  or  naval  forces  or  in  the  militia 
when  in  actual  service  in  time  of  war  or  public  danger  ; 
nor  should  any  person  be  subject  to  be  twice  put  in 
jeopardy  for  the  same  offence,  or  be  compelled  in  any 
criminal  case  to  be  witness  against  himself,  or  be  de- 
prived of  life,  liberty,  or  property  without  due  process 
of  law  ;  nor  should  private  property  be  taken  for  public 
use  without  just  compensation. 

(Article  6.)  That  in  all  criminal  prosecutions,  the 
accused  should  enjoy  the  right  of  a  speedy  and  public 
trial  by  an  impartial  jury  of  the  State  and  district  where- 
in the  crime  was  committed,  which  district  should  have 
been  previously  ascertained  by  law ;  to  be  informed  of 
the  nature  and  cause  of  the  accusation  ;  to  be  confront- 
ed with  the  witnesses  against  him  ;  to  have  compulsory 
process  for  obtaining  witnesses  in  his  favor ;  and  to  have 
the  assistance  of  counsel. 

(Article  7.)  That  in  suits  at  common  law  where  the 
value  in  controversy  should  exceed  120,  the  right  of  trial 
by  jury  should  be  preserved  ;  and  that  no  fact  tried  by  a 
jury  should  otherwise  be  examined  in  any  court  of  the 
United  States  than  according  to  the  rules  of  common  law. 

(Article  8.)  That  excessive  bail  should  not  be  re- 
quired, or  cruel  or  unusual  punishments  inflicted. 

(Article  9.)  That  the  enumeration  in  the  Constitu- 
tion of  certain  rights  should  not  be  construed  to  deny  oi 
disparage  others  retained  by  the  people  ;  and  finally. 


WASHINGTON'S  FIRST  TERM  77 

(Article  10. )  That  the  powers  not  delegated  to  the 
United  States  by  the  Constitution,  or  by  it  prohibited  to 
the  States,  should  be  reserved  to  the  States  respectively 
or  to  the  people. 

A  great  deal  of  persistent  popular  misconception  re- 
garding our  government  and  the  liberties  and  immu- 
nities of  the  American  people  has  been  due  to  the  fact 
that  the  foregoing  amendments  do  not  explicitly  state 
that  the  things  therein  enjoined  or  prohibit-  ^^^^ 
ed  are  enjoined  upon  or  prohibited  to  the  endments 
United  States  only,  and  not  also  upon  or  to  general  gov- 
the  several  States.*  Thus,  where  the  amend- 
ment  says  the  right  of  the  people  to  bear  arms  shall  not 
be  infringed,  most  persons  suppose  that  this  binds  the 
several  States ;  whereas  it  is  only  a  prohibition  to  the 
United  States.  Similar  misconceptions  have  existed  in 
the  public  mind  regarding  the  effect  of  nearly  every 
other  provision  of  these  amendments.  Again,  it  is  to 
be  regretted  that  these  ten  amendments  were  treated  as 
amendments,  and  were  not  declared  to  be  a  part  of  the 
original  Constitution  and  incorporated  into  its  body  and 
substance.  When  a  student  of  our  history  is  told  that 
there  have  been  fifteen  amendments,  he  necessarily  forms 
a  greatly  exaggerated  idea  of  the  amount  of  change 
which  has  been  wrought  in  that  instrument.  The  first 
amendments  having  been,  virtually,  a  condition  of  rati- 
fication, there  have  been  but  five  real  amendments, 
namely,  those  numbered  from  11  to  15.  A  statement  like 
this  would  give  a  much  more  just  idea  of  the  extent  of 
the  alterations  which  our  organic  law  has  undergone 
during  a  hundred  years  of  actual  trial.  In  fact,  there 
was  a  period  of  more  than  sixty  years  during  which  not 
an  amendment  was  adopted. 


*  See  Barron  vs.  Baltimore,  7  Peters,  243. 


78 


THE  MAKI^'G  OF  THE  NATIOJiT 


The  reader  will  recall  tlie  statements  made  regarding 
the  distress  and  dishonor  into  which  the  Confederation 
The  fund-  plnnged  by  its  inability  to  meet  the  de- 
deb^s^o^fthe  ^^^^^  foreign  and  domestic  creditors. 
Confederation  The  Union  inherited  from  its  predecessor  an 
Bumption  ^of  cnormous  burden.  The  foreign  debt^  in- 
state debts,  eluding  arrears  of  interest^  amounted  to 
nearly  twelve  millions^  due  mostly  in  France  and  Hol- 
land, on  account  of  loans  which  had  been  made  to  us 
during  the  Eevolution  from  political  friendship  and 
sympathy.  The  domestic  debt  exceeded  forty-two  mill- 
ions, of  which  nearly  one-third  represented  unpaid  in- 
terest. In  such  a  condition  it  is  small  wonder  that  the 
value  of  government  certificates  had  sunk  to  one-eighth 
of  their  face  value.  Moreover,  there  was  outstanding, 
as  estimated,  seventy-eight  to  eighty  millions  of  conti- 
nental currency,  the  history  of  which  is  significant  of 
the  whole  philosophy  of  fiat-money.  In  March,  1778, 
a  dollar  of  coin  had  been  worth  $1.75  in  paper  ;  in  Sep- 
tember of  the  same  year  it  was  worth  $4  ;  in  March, 
1779,  $10 ;  in  September  of  the  same  year,  $18  ;  in 
March,  1780,  $40.  At  the  last  stage.  Congress  provided 
for  funding  the  money  at  $40  to  $1.  About  two  hun- 
dred millions  were  so  funded.  The  new  certificates 
themselves,  however,  soon  depreciated  to  about  one- 
eighth  of  their  face  value.  Such  was  the  body  of  in- 
debtedness, the  legacy  of  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  for 
which  the  new  government  was  called  to  provide. 

In  regard  to  the  necessity  and  propriety  of  discharg- 
ing fully  and  promptly  the  foreign  debt,  no  difference 
The  foreign  Opinion  existed.  This  was  well,  though 
debt.  cannot  accept  the  reason  for  making  a 

distinction  between  the  foreign  and  domestic  debt  given 
by  Mr.  Jefferson.  The  claim  that  Congress  was,  in  the 
case  of  the  domestic  debt,  the  representative  of  both 


WASHINGTON'S  FIRST  TERiM  79 

parties  to  the  contract,  and  could  therefore  alter  the 
terms  of  the  transaction,  provided  only  "  substantial 
justice  "  was  secured,  is  unfounded,  immoral,  and  de- 
structive of  national  credit.  The  slightest  departure 
from  the  exact  terms  of  a  contract  must  be  sanctioned, 
if  at  all,  by  the  plea  of  absolute  necessity  overriding 
all  law,  an  exigency  which  leaves  no  room  for  choice, 
the  same  exigency  which  would  justify  the  taking  of 
private  property  without  compensation. 

To  the  payment  of  the  domestic  debt  at  the  par  value 
of  the  certificates,  vehement  opposition  was  made,  on 
the  ground  that  these  certificates  had  long  tj^^  domestic 
been  depreciated  and  had  been  so  largely 
transferred,  at  less  than  par,  that  the  present  holders 
were  not  entitled  to  be  paid  in  full.  It  was  said  that 
the  wrong  done  to  the  original  subscribers  or  to  inter- 
mediate holders  was  irremediable  ;  while  to  pay  the 
debt  at  par  was  to  throw  the  money  away  upon  specu- 
lators who  had  bought  the  stock  for  a  song.  On  the 
other  hand,  Hamilton  argued  in  favor  of  paying  the 
holders  of  the  debt,  in  full,  as  follows  :  Whatever  ne- 
cessity the  seller  may  have  been  under,  was  occasioned 
by  the  Government  not  making  a  proper  provision  for 
its  debts.  The  buyer  had  no  agency  in  it,  and  there- 
fore ought  not  to  suffer.  He  is  not  even  chargeable 
with  having  taken  an  unfair  advantage.  He  paid  what 
the  commodity  was  worth  in  the  market,  and  took  the 
risks  of  reimbursement  upon  himself.  The  act,  as 
finally  passed  by  Congress,  authorized  the  borrowing  of 
not  exceeding  twelve  millions  for  the  payment  of  the 
foreign  debt  [this,  unanimously],  the  money  to  be  re- 
imbursable within  fifteen  years.  It  also  authorized  a 
loan  for  the  domestic  debt :  two-thirds  of  the  principal 
to  draw  interest  at  six  per  cent,  from  January  1,  1791 ; 
the  remaining  one-third  at  the  same  rate,  from  1800  ; 


80 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  KATION" 


arrears  of  interest  to  be  funded  at  full  value,  but  to 
draw  interest  at  only  three  per  cent.,  from  July  1,  1791, 
and  to  be  redeemable  at  the  pleasure  of  the  Govern- 
ment. Subscriptions  to  the  loan  were  to  be  payable  in 
certificates  of  the  national  debt,  or  in  continental  paper- 
money  at  100  to  1.  JSTonsubscribing  creditors  were  to 
take  their  chances  out  of  any  surplus  in  the  treasury. 
The  action  of  Congress  in  paying  the  Eevolutionary 
debt  as  nearly  in  full  as  was  done  has  been  strongly  ap- 
proved by  posterity.  After  such  a  career  of  financial 
distress  and  dishonor  as  had  prevailed  between  1777  and 
1789,  there  are  always  a  plenty  of  good  rascally  reasons 
for  cutting  away  the  broken  mast  of  the  public  credit, 
to  use  the  striking  phrase  of  Sir  James  Graham  ;  but 
the  considerations  advanced  by  Hamilton  will  always  be 
sufficient  for  the  statesman  and  ought  to  satisfy  every 
true  lover  of  his  country. 

"  But  the  measures  regarding  the  public  debt  were  not 
yet  complete.    The  proposition  was  made  to  assume  the 
.  State  debts  occasioned  by  the  war.    To  this 

Assumption  .  *^ 

debts'*^  s^^ate  the  most  passionatc  objections  were  made. 

It  was  argued  :  (1)  That  the  amount  of  the 
State  debts  was  unknown  ;  (2)  that  assumption  would 
be  unjust  as  between  States,  giving  advantage  to  such 
as  had  most  freely  contracted  debts  during  the  war,  in 
place  of  raising  money  by  taxation,  and  doing  a  double 
wrong  to  those  which  had  made  the  greatest  exertions 
since  the  war  to  pay  off  their  debts,  which  some  had  al- 
ready done  to  nearly  the  extent  of  one-half,  while  others 
had  done  nothing  ;  (3)  that  it  would  be  a  usurpation  of 
powers  not  conferred  by  the  Constitution  ;  (4)  that  it 
would  make  necessary  a  resort  to  internal  taxation.  As- 
sumption was  finally  carried  in  a  qualified  form,  $21,- 
500,000  being  apportioned  among  the  several  States, 
according  to  a  schedule  incorporated  in  the  law,  Massa- 


WASIIINGTOX^S  FlUST  TEUM 


81 


chnsetts  and  South  Carolina  receiving  $4^000,000  each  ; 
Virginia,  $3,500,000  ;  and  so  on,  down  to  $200,000, 
each,  for  Rhode  Island  and  Delaware.  Even  this  was 
not  effected  without  a  good  deal  of  artifice  and  outside 
pressure.  Jefferson  afterward  bitterly  complained  of 
having  been  cheated  by  Hamilton  into  favoring  a  meas- 
ure which  he  misunderstood  ;  while  it  is  admitted  that 
the  friends  of  assumption  made  a  distinct  bargain  with 
the  advocates  of  another  measure,  hereafter  to  be  men- 
tioned, by  which  a  joint  support  was  given  to  both 
bills.  Hamilton  had  triumphed  in  his  comprehensive 
scheme  for  funding  the  debts  of  the  Revolution  ;  he 
had  placed  the  credit  of  the  new  nation  on  a  secure 
foundation  ;  and  he  had  won  to  the  support  of  Govern- 
ment the  whole  power  of  the  capitalist  and  commercial 
classes.  But  he  had  aroused,  almost  to  madness,  the 
opponents  of  his  financial  measures  ;  and  he  had  created 
throughout  large  sections  of  the  country  a  deep  distrust 
and  dislike  of  federal  authority.  Let  us  now  pass  to 
consider  the  other  financial  measures  of  Washington's 
first  term.  These  related  to  the  mint ;  the  national 
bank  ;  tonnage  duties  ;  custom  duties ;  excise  duties. 

By  an  early  resolution  of  the  First  Congress,  steps 
were  taken  toward  the  establishment  of  a  national  mint. 
Under  an  act  of  1792,  the  mint  was  set  up  ^^^^  .  ^ 
in  Philadelphia,  the  distinguished  mathe- 
matician and  astronomer,  David  Rittenhouse,  being  ap- 
pointed director.  The  coinage  provided  for  was  to  be 
both  of  gold  and  of  silver,  at  the  legal  ratio  of  15  to  1, 
an  under-valuation  of  gold  according  to  the  market 
ratio  of  the  time.  The  gold  coins  were  to  be  the  eagle 
($10),  the  half-eagle,  and  the  quarter-eagle,  the  silver 
coins  being  the  dollar,  half-dollar,  quarter-dollar,  dime, 
and  half -dime.  It  is  worth  noting  that  the  bill,  as  first 
reported,  provided  that  upon  one  side  of  the  coins 


82  THE  MAKING  OF  THE  KATION 


should  be  an  impression  or  representation  of  the  head 
of  the  President  of  the  United  States  for  the  time^e- 
ing/^  This  proposition  aroused  the  sharpest  objections, 
which  rose  into  furious  denunciation.  Some  who  took 
part  in  the  debate  talked  as  though  only  this  was  neces- 
sary in  order  to  establish  an  absolute  despotism.  An 
amendment  was  offered  to  make  the  image^  on  the  coin 
that  of  Washington  only  ;  but  this  did  not  satisfy  the 
objectors.  After  a  severe  contest,  in  which  the  houses 
of  Congress  came  for  a  time  to  a  deadlock/^  both  re- 
fusing to  yield,  the  offensive  provision  was  stricken  out, 
and  an  emblematical  figure  of  Liberty  was  substi- 
tuted. To  this  conclusion  we  owe  the  image,  emblem- 
atical or  enigmatical,  as  one  chooses  to  consider  it,  but 
in  either  view  exceedingly  ugly,  so  long  presented  on 
our  national  coins. 

A  bank  had  been  incorporated  by  the  Congress  of  the 
Confederation  in  1781.  It  was  a  comparatively  small 
affair  ;  and  had,  at  the  time  of  which  we  are  writing, 
gone  under  a  charter  from  the  State  of  Pennsylvania. 
There  is  a  very  common  assumption  that  it  contributed 
largely  to  independence.  That  theory  has  been  com- 
bated by  Mr.  William  M.  Gouge,  who  argues  that  the 
The  National  bank  did  not  go  into  operation  until  after 

Bank.  ^j^^  capitulation  of  Cornwallis  ;  and  that  the 
net  advances  made  by  it  to  the  government  were  of  the 
most  petty  character.  However  this  may  be,  it  is  cer- 
tain that  the  popular  opinion  as  to  the  services  of  the 
bank  during  the  Kevolution  did  much  toward  establish- 
ing a  bank  in  1791. 

The  project  was  opposed  by  Mr.  Madison  for  financial 
reasons,  and  also  on  the  ground  of  unconstitutionality, 
a  power  to  grant  charters  of  incorporation  having  been 
proposed  and  defeated  in  the  Convention  of  1787.  Mr. 
Hamilton  was  the  main  champion  of  the  measure,  press- 


WASHINGTON'S  FIRST  TERM 


83 


ing  it  with  the  full  force  of  his  personal  influence  and 
his  official  position.  His  Report  on  the  Bank  is  one  of 
his  masterpieces.  The  bill  passed  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, 39  to  20.  The  division  was  highly  sectional. 
All,  except  one,  who  voted  in  the  negative  were  from 
the  Southern  States.  All  who  were  present  from  the 
Northern  States,  except  one  from  Massachusetts,  voted 
in  the  affirmative.  Before  signing  the  bill  Washington 
took  the  advice  of  his  cabinet  on  the  question  of  consti- 
tutionality. Jefferson,  Secretary  of  State,  and  Ran- 
dolph, Attorney-General,  both  from  Virginia,  were  ad- 
verse. General  Knox,  Secretary  of  War,  supported 
Hamilton  in  his  view  that  the  right  of  Congress  to 
charter  a  bank  was  carried  by  the  implied  The  doc- 
powers^^  of  the  Constitution.    This  doctrine  trine  of  im- 

if  -      V  J  J.     1.  •  i,x     P^^^  powers. 

of  implied  powers  was  to  become  a  mighty 
weapon  in  the  hands  of  those  who  desired  to  magnify 
the  general  government  and  to  make  the  United  States 
more  and  more  a  nation.  As  that  was  the  first  occa- 
sion on  which  the  doctrine  had  come  strongly  into  view 
in  an  important  issue,  Washington  hesitated,  but  finally 
accepted  it  and  afterward  stood  strongly  by  it. 

The  Qapjtal  stack  of  the  bank  was  to  be  $10,000,000, 
one-fifth  to  be  owned  by  the  United  States  :  four-fifths 
to  be  subscribed  by  individuals.  Of  the  sub-  organization 
scriptions  three-fourths  were  to  be  paid  in  of  the  bank, 
gold  and  silver.  The  corporation  was  not  to  own  prop- 
erty exceeding  $15,000,000  or  to  owe  (exclusive  of  de- 
posits) exceeding  $10,000,000.  It  might  sell  any  part  of 
the  public  debt  composing  its  capital ;  but  not  purchase 
any  public  debt,  or  trade  in  anything  but  bills  of  exchange 
and  gold  and  silver  bullion,  or  take  any  rate  of  interest 
higher  than  six  per  cent.  It  was  to  be  a  bank  of  de- 
posit and  discount.  Its  notes  were  to  be  payable  in 
specie  and  receivable  in  all  payments  to  the  United 


84 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  ISTATIOX 


States.  No  loan  was  to  be  made  to  the  United  States 
exceeding  $100^000  ;  or  to  any  State,  exceeding  $50,000  ; 
or  to  any  foreign  prince  or  state,  in  any  amount.  The 
bank  was  to  be  located  in  Philadelphia,  with  power  to 
establish  in  other  places  offices^f  discount  and  deposit, 
only.  Eight  branches  were,  in  fact,  established.  The 
charter  was  to  be  in  force  twenty  years,  that  is,  from 
1791  to  1811.  No  other  bank  was  to  be  established  by 
Congress  in  that  time. 

By  an  act  framed  at  the  first  session  of  Congress,  dis- 
criminating duties  were  laid  on  tonnage  : .  six  cents  per 
Tonnage  du-  ^'^^  American  and  fifty  cents  per  ton  on 
ties.  foreign  ships.  Duties  on  goods  imported  in 
American  bottoms  were  to  be  one-tenth  less  than  on 
goods  imported  in  foreign  bottoms.  Mr.  Madison 
argued  strongly  in  favor  of  discrimination,  as  building 
up  an  American  navy.  The  objection  came  mainly 
from  the  extreme  Southern  States,  on  the  ground  which 
was  indicated  in  the  discussion  of  the  two-thirds  vote 
question  in  the  Constitutional  Convention,  viz.,  that 
Georgia  and  the  two  Carolinas,  while  they  furnished  a 
vast  amount  of  freight  for  export,  built  and  owned  few 
ships,  and  would  thus  have  to  pay  the  higher  rates  of 
freight  without  a  proportional  benefit.  But  the  oppo- 
sition was  not  violent,  the  acts  of  England  adverse  to 
American  trade  having  made  the  idea  of  building  up  an 
American  marine  highly  popular. 

Congress  had  not  been  organized  seventy  hours  when 
the  question  of  taxing  foreign  imports  for  revenue  was 
introduced ;  and  the  question  of  indirectly  favoring 
American  manufactures  came  under  discussion.  Mr. 
Madison  brought  forward  the  tariff  bill  in  the  House  of 
Kepresentatives.  He  professed  himself  what  would  be 
called  a  free-trader,  although  the  preamble  of  the  bill 
contained  the  phrase,  ^"^for  the  encoiiragement  and 


WASHINGTON'S  FIRST  TERM 


85 


protection  of  manufactures/^  Mr.  Hartley  of  Penn- 
sylvania, was  the  principal  advocate  of  protection/^ 
The  bill  contained  certain  specific  and  cer-  customs, 
tain  ad  valorem  duties  ;  and  imposed  a  uni-  duties:  protec- 
form  tax  of  five  per  cent,  on  all  other  articles 
imported.  The  purpose  of  affording  encouragement  to 
domestic  manufactures  is  nowhere  conspicuous,  revenue 
being  chiefly  considered.  The  social  question,  i,e,,  the 
American  rate  of  wages  and  the  American  standard  of 
living,  had  not  yet  come  out  in  the  discussion  of  pro- 
tection. So  far  as  the  encouragement  of  domestic  man- 
ufactures was  then  sought,  it  was  for  the  purpose  of 
making  the  United  States  independent  of  foreign  na- 
tions in  the  supply  of  necessary  articles. 

The  imposition  of  customs  duties  had  incurred  no 
passionate  objections  from  any  quarter.  It  had  been 
distinctly  understood  and  agreed  that  the  government 
would  raise  its  revenue  largely  from  foreign  goods  im- 
ported.   But  the  imposition  of  excise  duties, 

7,    ,  .      T    , .      1     .   1  . .  -I  Excise  duties. 

that  IS,  duties  levied  upon  articles  grown  or 
produced  within  the  country,  or  duties,  like  stamps  and 
licenses,  upon  the  occupations  and  business  of  the  peo- 
ple :  these  were  an  altogether  different  thing.  It  is 
true,  the  word  excises  "  was  contained  in  the  grant  of 
powers  to  Congress  ;  but  this  did  not  prevent  a  large 
party,  especially  at  the  South,  from  strenuously  main- 
taining that  the  power  should  be  exercised  very  rarely 
and  only  in  extreme  necessity.  This  party  held  that 
the  States  should  be  allowed  to  obtain  their  revenue 
from  excises,  according  to  the  needs  and  feelings  of 
their  own  peoples.  Moreover,  it  is  historically  true 
that  excise  taxes  arouse  far  more  popular  discontent 
than  do  customs  or  tariff  duties.  What  is  paid  by  great 
merchants  at  the  ports  of  entry  is,  speaking  generally, 
added  to  the  price  of  the  goods  without  being  seen  or 


86 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


scarcely  felt  by  the  consumer  ;  but  when  a  government 
undertakes  to  raise  a  revenue  by  internal  or  excise 
taxes  it  is  obliged  to  interfere  with  private  business  in 
a  very  annoying  way,  to  exercise  espionage  and  super- 
vision, and  to  collect  its  money  often  at  the  most  in- 
convenient times  and  by  the  most  irritating  methods. 

Mr.  Jefferson  was  the  leader  of  those  throughout  the 
United  States  who  objected  most  strongly  to  the  use  of 
this  power  in  any  degree  by  Congress.  It  was  his  idea 
that  the  American  farmer,  the  American  mechanic,,  the 
American  laborer,  should  never  see  a  tax-gatherer  of  the 
United  States.  But  Mr.  Hamilton's  extensive  scheme 
for  funding  the  national  and  State  debts  had  made  a 
large  revenue  necessary  ;  and  consequently  Congress,  by 
The  whiskey  ^^t  of  March  3,  1791,  imposed  heavy  duties 
upon  spirits  distilled  in  the  United  States. 
The  selection  of  that  article  as  the  subject  of  taxation 
was  justified  by  many  reasons  ;  but  the  conditions  of 
the  manufacture  at  the  time  were  such  as  to  render 
this  tax  peculiarly  galling  and  odious.  At  present  a 
comparatively  few  vast  distilleries  produce  nearly  all  the 
spirits  made  in  the  country.  In  such  a  case  the  pay- 
ment of  even  high  duties  is  a  matter  of  little  conse- 
quence ;  the  distillers  are  men  of  large  capital,  and  im- 
mediately add  the  tax  to  the  price  of  their  product.  At 
the  time  of  which  we  are  writing,  however,  there  was 
an  immense  number  of  petty  distilleries  spread  all  over 
the  country.  It  was  estimated  that  there  were  three 
thousand  in  Pennsylvania  alone  ;  and  small  stills 
abounded  equally  in  Virginia  and  the  Carolinas.  To 
the  proprietors  of  these,  the  payment  of  a  tax,  in  ad- 
vance of  marketing  their  product,  or  personally  consum- 
ing it,  as  was  quite  commonly  the  case,  constituted  a 
great  hardship,  and  aroused  the  most  bitter  feelings  of 
indignation.    Moreover,  there  was  another  feature  of 


WASHINGTON'S  FIRST  TERM 


87 


fche  situation  which  has  not  been  sufficiently  dwelt  upon. 
The  enterprise  characteristic  of  the  American  people 
had  carried  tens  and  hundreds  of  thousands  far  away 
from  the  Atlantic  coast,  and  even  from  navigable  wa- 
ters, to  build  up  homes  for  themselves  and  their  chil- 
dren. With  the  rude  and  inadequate  facilities  for 
transportation  existing,  the  grain  which  these  pioneers 
raised  upon  the  soil  would  not  ^^bear  transportation^^ 
to  market.  If,  however,  the  grain  could  be  reduced, 
both  in  bulk  and  weight,  to  the  form  of  spirits,  the 
cost  of  transportation  would  be  greatly  diminished  and 
the  price  of  the  product  greatly  enhanced.  Yet,  since 
the  Constitution  prescribed  that  all  taxes,  duties,  im- 
posts, and  excises  Should  be  uniform  throughout  the 
United  States,  it  was  necessary  to  tax  the  whiskey  of 
Western  Pennsylvania  or  of  Kentucky  at  the  same  rate 
as  that  imposed  upon  spirits  distilled  along  tide-water 
or  upon  the  banks  of  navigable  streams.  We  shall,  a 
little  later,  see  how  the  whiskey  tax  of  1791  not  only 
aroused  great  opposition  throughout  the  country,  but 
led  to  armed  resistance,  and  even  open  rebellion. 


CHAPTER  VI 


WASHINGTON'S  FIRST  TERM-CONTINUED 

Formation  of  Executive  Departments — Development  of  tne  Cabi- 
net— The  Constitution  Silent  on  this  Subject — Congress  Estab- 
lishes the  Departments  of  State,  of  Treasury,  and  of  War — Also 
Provides  for  the  Appointment  of  an  Attorney  General — Prac- 
tice of  the  Early  Presidents  Regarding  the  Function  of  the 
Cabinet — Should  Cabinet  Officers  Sit  in  Congress,  or  Occasion- 
ally Meet  with  Congress,  or  Communicate  with  that  Body  Only 
in  Writing  ? — The  Last  Procedure  Adopted — Washington's  Cabi- 
net :  Jefferson,  Hamilton,  Knox,  Randolph — Parties  Under  the 
Constitution  not  yet  Formed — Antagonism  Developed  between 
Jefferson  and  Hamilton — State's  Rights  vs.  National  Aggrandize- 
ment— Washington  Consents  to  Re-election — Opposition  of 
Antifederalists  to  Mr.  Adams — Organization  of  the  Supreme 
Court— Washington's  Appointments  strongly  Federalist — John 
Jay,  Chief -Justice — The  Foreign  Relations  of  Washington's 
First  Term — Weakness  of  the  United  States  Abroad — Wash- 
ington's Policy  of  Neutrality,  especially  as  between  France  and 
England — Rising  Passion  of  Anti federalist  Sympathizers  with 
French  Revolutionists— Colonialism  in  American  Public  Life 
— War  with  the  Miamis — The  Indian  Policy  of  the  United 
States — The  Permanent  Seat  of  Government — The  District  of 
Columbia  and  the  City  of  Washington — The  First  Census  and 
the  Redistribution  of  Representation  in  Congress — The  Fugi- 
tive-Slave Law — Admission  of  New  States — Influence  of  the 
States  beyond  the  AUeghanies  upon  the  Growth  of  American 
Nationality — Difficulties  Arising  at  the  West  from  the  Spanish 
Control  of  the  Mississippi — Unanimous  Re-election  of  Wash- 
ington— Adams  Re-elected  by  a  Smaller  Vote. 

We  continue  the  narrative  of  the  first  term  of  Wash- 
ington's administration.  Let  us  now  consider  the  for- 
mation of  executive  departments,  and  the  relation  of 


WASHINGTON'S  FIEST  TEEM 


89 


the  cabinet  to  the  President  and  to  Congress.  It  is  a 
curious,  though  excellent,  feature  of  the  Constitution 
that  it  prescribes  nothing  regarding  executive  depart- 
ments. In  the  Convention  it  was  proposed  to  form  a 
Council  of  State,  to  be  composed  of  certain  high  officers, 
to  assist,  and  in  a  measure  control,  the  President  in  the 
discharge  of  his  duties.  This  project  having  failed,  it 
would  have  been  natural  that  the  Convention  should 
provide  at  least  for  a  cabinet  to  surround  and  support 
the  President  in  his  office,  to  be  composed  of  the  prin- 
cipal officers  of  state.  Even  this  it  failed  to  do,  only  in- 
serting a  provision  which  gives  the  President  power  to 

require  the  opinion,  in  writing,  of  the  principal  officer 
in  each  of  the  executive  departments,  upon  any  subject 
relating  to  the  duties  of  their  respective  offices.^''  It 
will  be  seen  from  this  that,  not  only  did  the  Convention 
not  constitute  a  cabinet,  but  that  all  the  intimation  there 
is  regarding  the  subject  in  the  Constitution  goes  rather 
the  other  way,  the  President  being  contemplated  as  con- 
sulting the  heads  of  departments  separately  regarding  the 
duties  of  their  several  offices,  and  not  as  assembling  them 
together  for  consultation  concerning  matters  of  general 
interest  to  the  administration. 

When  Congress  met  under  the  Constitution,  it  at  once 
proceeded  to  form  three  executive  departments,  viz.. 
State  (at  first  called  Foreign  Affairs),  Treas-  Executive  de- 
ury,  and  War.  The  head  of  each  department  P^^^^^^^ts. 
was  to  bear  the  title.  Secretary.  Provision  was  also 
made  for  the  appointment  of  an  Attorney-General ;  but 
this  officer  was  not  the  head  of  an  executive  department, 
nor  did  he  become  so  until  1870,  when  the  Department 
of  J ustice  was  established. 

In  creating  these  high  offices  a  most  important  ques- 
tion arose,  viz.,  whether  heads  of  departments  could  be 
removed  by  the  President  alone,  or  the  concurrence  of 


I 


90  THE  MAKIISTG  OF  THE  NATIOlSr 

the  Senate  should  be  necessary^  as  in  their  appointment. 
Mr.  Hamilton^  in  the  Federalist,  had  taken  it  for  granted 
Power  of  re-  ^^^^  ^Vioh  Concurrence  would  be  essential  to 
moval.  removal  in  the  case  of  all  officers^  and  had  ar- 
gued that  this  would  contribute  to  the  stability  of  ad- 
ministration ;  but  when  Congress  came  to  deal  with  the 
matter^  the  question  above  stated  came  under  active  dis- 
cussion. Mr.  Madison,  Hamilton's  colleague  in  the 
Federalist,  strongly  argued  that  the  President  should 
have  the  sole  power  of  removal.  The  opposite  side  was 
taken  by  Messrs.  Sherman  and  Gerry.  Congress  decided 
in  favor  of  conferring  on  the  President  the  power  of  re- 
moval. This  result  was  of  beneficial  and  far-reaching 
consequences.  Had  the  decision  been  the  other  way, 
heads  of  executive  departments  would  have  been  able, 
by  cultivating  personal  and  political  relations  with  the 
Senate,  to  intrench  themselves  against  the  President  and 
to  defy  his  power.    Only  mischief  could  have  ensued. 

Executive  departments  having  been  constituted,  it 
became  a  question  for  the  President  whether  he  should 
The  cabinet  ^ ^is  owu  purposcs  bring  the  heads  of  these 
S^on  ^a^nd  departments  together  into  a  cabinet  ;  or 
Adams.  should  deal  with  them  separately,  as  the 
Constitution  seemed  to  contemplate.  We  may  antici- 
pate results  so  far  as  to  say  that  the  practice  varied  dur- 
ing the  first  few  administrations.  President  Washington 
was  in  the  habit  of  taking  the  opinions  of  his  secretaries 
in  separate  consultations  or  by  letter  ;  while  upon  occa- 
sions of  greater  importance  he  assembled  them  for  oral 
discussion  in  the  form  of  a  council.  Having  heard  the 
opinion  of  each,  he  decided  upon  the  course  to  be  pur- 
sued. The  second  President,  Adams,  followed  substan- 
tially the  same  practice,  though  we  shall  see  that  the  mem- 
bers of  his  cabinet  were  disposed  to  put  forward  something 
like  a  claim  to  an  integral  share  in  the  executive  office. 


WASHINGTON'S  FIRST  TERM 


91 


'^The  third  President,  Jefferson/^  says  Mr.  George 
Ticknor  Curtis,  adopted  a  somewhat  different  prac- 
tice.   When  a  question  occurred  of  sufficient  „ 

.  .    .  p    n  n         M:r.  Jeffer- 

magnitude  to  require  the  opinions  oi  all  the  son  and  his 
heads  of  departments,  he  called  them  together,  *  ^  ®  • 
had  the  subject  discussed  and  a  vote  taken,  in  which  he 
counted  himself  as  but  one.  But  he  always  seemed  to 
have  considered  that  he  had  the  power  to  decide  against 
the  opinion  of  his  cabinet.  That  he  never  or  rarely  ex- 
ercised it  was  owing  partly  to  the  unanimity  of  senti- 
ment that  prevailed  in  his  cabinet  and  to  his  desire  to 
preserve  that  unanimity,  and  partly  to  his  disinclination 
to  the  exercise  of  personal  power.  When  there  were 
differences  of  opinion,  he  aimed  to  produce  a  unanimous 
result  by  discussion,  and  almost  always  succeeded.  But 
he  admits  that  this  practice  made  the  executive,  in  fact, 
a  directorv/^  Later  in  our  constitutional  history  the 
cabinet  was  more  fully  recognized  in  practice,  though 
still  not  known  to  the  Constitution  ;  its  meetings  were 
more  regular  and  frequent ;  and  its  function  of  at  once 
advising  the  President,  checking  his  impulses,  and  bring- 
ing to  the  administration  the  support  of  the  different 
sections  of  the  country,  became  of  more  and  more  im- 
portance in  the  real,  as  distinguished  from  the  written, 
government  of  the  United  States. 

So  much  for  the  relations  of  heads  of  departments  to 
the  President.  It  was  quite  another  question  whether 
these  officers  should  sit  in  Confess  and    Relation  of 

,         .  •       n  ,    the  cabinet 

present  their  measures,  or  occasionally  meet  to  congress. 
Congress  for  that  purpose,  or  communicate  only  with 
Congress  as  a  whole  by  writing,  leaving  their  personal 
communications  to  be  made  to  individual  Congress- 
men or  to  committees,  as  is  at  present  done.  A  great 
deal  has  of  late  been  written  in  advocacy  of  a  cabinet 
government  for  the  United  States,  like  that  which 


92 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


has  been  so  successfully  carried  on  in  England.  This 
would  involve  a  change  in  the  Constitution,  by  which 
the  President  should  be  obliged  to  select  his  heads  of  de- 
partments from  among  actual  members  of  Congress,  in 
one  or  the  other  house.  Taking  it  for  granted  that 
such  a  change  in  the  Constitution  would  be  impracti- 
cable, it  has  thereupon  been  urged  that  the  heads  of  ex- 
ecutive departments  should  still  be  authorized  by  law  to 
sit  in  Congress,  having  a  voice  but  no  vote,  so  that  they 
might  present,  explain,  and  defend  their  proposed 
measures  in  person.  The  matter  is  perhaps  worth 
further  discussion  ;  but  it  appears  extremely  doubtful 
whether  cabinet  officers  occupying  seats  by  sufferance, 
having  no  vote  as  members,  would  attain  to  anything 
like  the  authority  and  influence  which  the  advocates  of 
this  scheme  expect.  It  would  even  be  something  to  be 
dreaded,  lest,  with  the  rude  parliamentary  manners  of 
our  country,  these  officers  might  be  so  treated  in  speech 
and  debate  as  to  impair  their  dignity  and  influence. 
Assuming,  then,  that  under  existing  constitutional 
provisions,  it  is  not  desirable  that  heads  of  executive  de- 
partments should  regularly  sit  in  Congress,  the  question 
arises  why  they  should  not  meet  that  body  upon  im- 
portant occasions,  for  the  presentation  of  reports  or  the 
advocacy  of  measures.  N"o  constitutional  objection  is 
known  to  exist ;  and  it  would  appear  that  we  came  very 
near  having  this  established  as  a  recognized  form  of 
procedure.  Mr.  Hamilton,  early  in  the  first  adminis- 
tration, expressed  his  desire  to  present  to  the  House  of 
Eepresentatives  certain  financial  measures.  Had  this 
been  done,  it  would  probably  have  passed  into  precedent 
and  been  extensively  followed.  But  the  opponents  of 
Mr.  Hamilton,  jealous  of  his  rising  fame,  or  fearful  of 
his  eloquence  and  personal  influence,  secured  a  decision 
adverse  to  his  wishes  in  this  specific  instance  ;  and  that 


WASHINGTON'S  FIRST  TERM 


93 


decision,  though  purely  individual  and  personal,  became 
a  precedent  *  unrevoked  to  this  day,  so  that,  ever  since, 
the  heads  of  our  executive  departments  have  communi- 
cated with  Congress  only  in  writing  or  by  personal  con- 
ference with  committees. 

We  have  already  named  the  distinguished  citizens 
who  were  appointed  to  the  highest  offices  at  the  be- 
ginning of  Washington's  administration,  and  wash  in  g- 
who  became  his  cabinet,  in  the  modern  ton's  cabinet. 
American  sense  of  that  term.  It  is  now  appropriate  to 
speak  of  the  cabinet  as  a  whole  ;  and  of  the  relations  of 
its  members  to  each  other,  to  the  President,  and  to  the 
issues  which  were  beginning  to  emerge  from  the  surface 
of  American  political  life.  It  is  customary  to  say  that 
Washington^'s  choice  of  his  cabinet  officers  was  non- 
partisan. This  is  strictly  true  ;  but  those  who  say  it 
sometimes  explain  their  meaning  by  adding  that  he  took 
men  of  both  political  parties.  This  is  not  true.  The 
only  political  division,  as  yet,  had  been  as  to  the  adop- 
tion or  rejection  of  the  Constitution  ;  and  we  have  seen 
how  large  and  formidable  was  the  minority  on  this 
question.  When  Washington  came  to  make  up  his  cabi- 
net, he  selected  the  members  wholly  from  those  who 
had  supported  the  Constitution.  So  that,  in  one  sense, 
that  body  was  purely  partisan.  It  is  true  that  the  four 
men  chosen  for  his  chief  advisers  constituted  two  groups, 
Jefferson  and  Kandolph,  Hamilton  and  Knox,  having 

*It  appears  that  President  Washington,  accompanied  by  General 
Knox,  Secretary  of  War,  went  once  into  the  Senate,  in  the  days  of  the 
first  Congress,  and  suggested  that  General  Knox  should  explain  to  the 
Senate  the  provisions  of  a  pending  Indian  treaty.  The  Senate  would 
seem  to  haT©  put  the  matter  off,  at  the  time,  for  the  purpose  of  getting 
rid  of  the  President  and  the  Secretary.  Inasmuch,  however,  as  the  ques- 
tion at  issue  was  the  ratification  of  a  treaty,  by  the  Senate  alone,  and 
that  in  executive  session,  we  have  chosen  not  to  consider  this  as  an  in- 
stance of  a  cabinet  officer  offering  himself  to  assist  in  the  legislation  of 
Congress. 


94 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


widely  different  and  strongly  antagonistic  r^riews  as  to 
what  should  be  done  under  the  Constitution  ;  as  tq  ihe 
degree  in  which  the  powers  of  the  new  government 
should  be  called  into  action  for  the  general  good  ;  as  to 
the  relations  of  the  new  organization  to  the  States  and 
to  the  people.  But  parties  did  not  then  exist  through- 
out the  country  ;  the  issues  upon  which  citizens  were  to 
lange  themselves,  on  the  one  side  and  the  other,  had  not 
been  defined,  had  not  even  arisen. 

No  prescient  mind,  however,  could  fail  to  discern  the 
signs  of  an  early  and  a  deep  division  of  the  people  on 
The  coming  questions  of  vital  interest.  It  was  evident 
parties.  ^^^^  Jeffcrson  would  soon  be  at  the  head  of 
those  who  favored  a  strict  construction  of  the  Constitu- 
tion, a  close  limitation  of  the  powers  of  the  general 
government,  and  the  reduction  of  federal  agency  to  a 
minimum ;  while  Hamilton  would  become  the  recognized 
leader  of  those  who  wished  to  make  the  nation  power- 
ful and  imposing.  At  first  the  relations  of  the  several 
members  of  the  cabinet  were  friendly  and  harmonious. 
All  rejoiced  in  the  establishment  of  a  union  of  the 
States  ;  all  respected  the  great  leader  who  had  carried 
the  country  triumphantly  through  its  war  of  Inde- 
pendence, who  had  become  the  head  of  the  new 
nation  in  peace,  and  who  was  now  their  official  chief. 
Hamilton  had  even  been  able,  as  recited,  upon  Mr. 
Jefferson^s  somewhat  late  arrival  from  his  post  of  duty 
as  Minister  at  Paris,  to  draw  that  astute  politician 
into  the  support  of  the  measure  for  funding  the  State 
debts.  But,  as  Hamilton's  financial  measures  developed 
his  purpose  to  build  up  commerce  and  manufactures,  to 
make  the  national  debt  a  means  of  both  financial  and 
political  power  to  the  government,  and  in  other  respects 
to  magnify  the  Nation  in  comparison  with  the  State, 
Jefferson,  who  was  not  only  a  strong  States  Eights  man, 


Washington's  first  term 


95 


but  was  also  a  protectionist  of  a  peculiar  type,  disliking 
commerce,  and  favoring  manufactures  only  as  developed 
in  small  groups  around  the  plantation  and  the  farm, 
became  first  alienated  and  then  angry.  With  Hamilton's 
successive  triumphs  he  became  furious.  There  was  an- 
other very  marked  difference  between  these  two  great 
leaders.  Hamilton  was  essentially  an  aristocrat,  dis- 
trusting the  impulses  of  the  masses  of  the  people,  be- 
lieving in  the  absolute  necessity  of  a  leadership  by  men 
of  wealth  and  education,  and  regarding  it  as  good  gov- 
ernment to  build  up  powerful  interests  within  the  com- 
monwealth which  should  support  law  and  to  a  great 
extent  influence  political  action.  He  had  even,  in  the 
Constitutional  Convention,  frankly  professed  his  pref- 
erence for  monarchical  institutions  ;  and  he  still  be- 
lieved it  to  be  desirable  to  break-up  and  make -over 
the  existing  States.  Jefferson  was  a  democrat  of  demo- 
crats ;  with  all  his  mind  and  soul  he  believed  in  the 
honesty,  intelligence,  and  patriotism  of  the  common 
people ;  he  disliked  vested  interests,  estates,  or  powers 
within  the  commonwealth ;  he  favored  primitive  and 
simple  habits  of  life,  and  primitive  and  simple  forms 
of  government;  he  held  strongly  to  the  perpetual  in- 
tegrity of  the  existing  States. 

Between  two  men  with  such  conflicting  views,  each  of 
the  highest  intellectual  power,  not  even  the  presence  of 
Washington  could  long  keep  peace  ;  while  the  command- 
ing influence  of  each  leader  soon  rallied  a  great  follow- 
ing from  out  a  people  exhibiting  the  widest  diversities 
of  political  and  social  conditions,  thoughts,  and  feelings. 
The  party  of  Hamilton  became  known  as  Federalists/^ 
a  term  previously  applied  to  those  who  sup-  rpj^^  Federal- 
ported  the  Constitution,  as  against  those  who 
opposed  ratification.  To  this  party  belonged  Mr. 
Adams,  the  Vice-President,  who  was,  indeed,  in  many 


96 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


respects,  more  truly  its  leader  than  Mr.  Hamilton  him- 
self, possessing  a  degree  of  confidence,  on  the  part  of 
vast  numbers  of  that  general  way  of  thinking,  which 
was  withheld  from  the  more  showy  and  brilliant  cham- 
pion of  federal  ascendency.  In  his  general  views  and 
political  predilections  President  Washington  inclined 
strongly  toward  the  Federalists  ;  though  in  his  high  of- 
fice he  held  the  scales  with  so  much  of  dignity  and  im- 
partiality that  Jefferson  was  able  afterward  to  deny  that 
Washington  was,  in  any  true  sense,  a  Federalist. 

Within  his  own  party,  which  at  first  was  known  only 
by  the  name  of  Antifederalists,  Mr.  Jefferson  enjoyed 

^  ^         such  pre-eminence  that  he  was  and  remained 

Jefferson    .      . t  -,      .  t 

and  the  Anti-  to  the  end  Without  a  rival,  and  swayed  his 

federalists. 

vast  and  growing  constituency  almost  at  his 
will.  But  while  Mr.  Jefferson  found  no  one  who  could 
dispute  his  claim  to  leadership,  he  possessed  a  remark- 
ably good  second  in  Mr,_  Madison,  then  a  member  of  the 
House  of  Eepresentatives  from  Virginia.  Madison  was 
a  man  much  calmer  than  his  great  chief,  much  more 
sensible  and  practical  in  matters  of  detail,  a  strong  and 
judicious  speaker  and  writer.  No  general  ever  had  a 
more  useful  lieutenant.  The  division  of  the  people  was 
still,  as  in  the  Convention,  largely  sectional.  While  Ad- 
ams and  Hamilton  had  not  a  united  Njprth  behind  them, 
the  South  from  the  first  took  position  overwhelmingly* 
in  support  of  Jefferson.  The  warmth  of  feeling  and  of 
expression  characteristic  of  the  latter  section  tended  to 
widen  the  breach.  ^^I  am  unable, wrote  Mr.  Wolcott, 
to  form  any  opinion  as  to  the  real  condition  of  the 
Southern  States.  Were  the  representatives  of  the  north- 
ern country  to  express  the  same  sentiments  and  oppose 
the  projects  of  the  government  with  the  same  vehe- 

*  The  most  marked  exception  being  in  South  Carolina,  where  a  strong 
Federalist  district  surrounded  the  commercial  city  oi  Charleston. 


Washington's  first  term 


97 


mence,  I  should  imagine  the  people  were  on  the  eve  of  a 
rebellion/^  The  antagonism  thus  developed  culminated 
at  the  close  of  Washington's  first  term.  For  a  while  it 
was  uncertain  whether  he  would  consent  to  serve  again  ; 
indeed,  he  had  expressed  his  purpose  not  to  do  so  ;  and 
the  prospect  of  a  succession  brought  sharply  and  strong- 
ly out  the  relations  of  party.  When  Washington  con- 
sented to  re-election,  the  opposition  to  what  was  consid- 
ered the  dominating  influence  of  the  administration 
turned  itself  to  advocating  the  choice  of  another  Vice- 
President  in  place  of  Mr.  Adams.  The  Antifederalists 
now  began  to  call  themselves  ^'^  Eepublicans.''' 

The  Constitution  had  provided  for  a  Judiciary  ;  but 
the  effect  of  that  provision  had  been  but  faintly  appre- 
hended, even  by  the  most  sasracious  of  those 

Orff8.li  i  z  ft  " 

who  took  part  in  framing  it.  The  third  ar-  tion  of  the  Su- 
ticle  was,  in  truth,  the  sleeping  lion  of 
the  Constitution,  not  because  its  phraseology  was  ob- 
scure, but  because  no  one  had  been  able  to  lift  himself 
high  enough  to  see  the  full  scope  of  that  terrific  power 
which  should  decide  alike  laws  of  Congress  and  the  acts 
of  State  Legislatures  to  be  contrary  to  the  Constitution  ; 
which  should  sit  in  Judgment  alike  on  measures  and  on 
men,  from  highest  to  lowest  ;  which  should  become  the 
supreme  arbiter between  State  and  Nation;  which 
should,  in  the  result,  determine,  in  spite  of  nullifica- 
tion, secession,  and  rebellion,  what  kind  of  a  government 
ours  was  to  be.  Whatever  Jefferson  may  say  about 
Washington  not  being  a  Federalist,  the  appointment  of 
Justices  of  the  Supreme  Court  affords  a  test  which  will 
satisfy  most  minds  on  which  side  the  President  stood. 
His  choice  for  Chief -Justice  was  John  Jay,  of  New 
York.  Judge  Jay  was  one  of  those  rare  men  who,  with 
clear  views  and  strong  convictions,  are  yet  capable  of 
being  absolutely  fair,  just,  and  right-minded.  Though 
7 


98 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  KATIOK 


not  a  very  great  judge,  from  the  juridical  point  of  view, 
liis  lofty  character,  his  fervent  patriotism,  the  nobility 
of  his  aims,  the  simplicity  of  his  mind,  with  a  fair  store 
of  learning,  made  him  a  better  Chief-Justice  than  a 
much  greater  lawyer  might  have  been.  The  Associate 
Justices  were  John  Kutledge,  of  South  Carolina ;  William 
Cushing,  of  Massachusetts  ;  Eobert  H.  Harrison,  of 
Maryland  ;  James  Wilson,  of  Pennsylvania  ;  John  Blair, 
of  Virginia.  During  his  first  term,  Harrison  and  Eut- 
ledge  resigning,  the  President  appointed  in  their  places 
James  Iredell,  of  North  Carolina ;  and  Thomas  John- 
son, of  Maryland. 

It  has  been  stated,  in  connection  with  the  establish- 
ment of  the  Mint,  that  the  proposition  to  place  the  head 
of  the  President,  for  the  time  being,  upon  the  national 
coins,  gave  rise  to  an  embittered  contest,  in  which  that 
proposition  was  finally  defeated.  Other  matters  relating 
to  the  degree  of  state  to  be  assumed  by  the  chief  execu- 
tive or  affecting  his  relations  to  Congress  ^and  to  the 
people,  called  forth  an  almost  incredible  amount  of 
feeling  during  the  administration  of  Washington ;  and 
.  ,  ^.   this,  we  may  believe,  had  not  a  little  to  do. 

Official  eti-  .    .  .,1,1       o  , .  «  . 

quette^ajidthe  not,  indeed.  With  the  formation  of  parties 
the  executive  under  the  constitution,  but  with  the  party 
mansion.  affiliations  of  large  numbers  of  citizens.  Many 
leading  Federalists  were  disposed  to  hold  that  the  Pres- 
ident should  assume  a  great  deal  of  state  in  the  adminis- 
tration of  his  office  ;  they  desired  that  he  should  have 
high-sounding  titles,*  like  those  given  to  potentates  of 
the  old  world  ;  that  his  intercourse  with  the  public 

The  Senate  Committee  reported  in  favor  of  addressing  the  President 
as  "  His  Highness  the  President  of  the  United  States  and  the  Protector 
of  their  Liberties. "  The  House  of  Representatives,  however,  contented 
itself  with  addressing  him  solely  as  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
and  this  mode  of  address  fortunately  passed  into  precedent. 


Washington's  first  term 


99 


should  be  marked  by  a  distinct  reserve  ;  and  that  the 
executive  mansion  should  take  on  somewhat  the  aspect 
and  air  of  a  court.  This,  in  general,  was  not  distaste- 
ful to  Washington,  who  was  of  a  highly  aristocratic  turn 
of  thought  and  feeling  ;  who  shrank  instinctively  from 
indiscriminate  contact  and  approach  ;  who  wore  a  sword 
at  his  inauguration  and  upon  important  occasions  ;  who 
did  not  object  to  having  his  birth-day  celebrated  like 
the  King  of  England^s  ;  and  in  all  respects  bore  himself 
as  a  great  man  among  men.  The  Antifederalists,  or 
Eepublicans,  were  strongly  opposed  to  this  sort  of  thing, 
both  from  their  ordinary  way  of  thinking  and,  particu- 
larly, from  the  influence  of  the  extreme  democratic,  or 

levelling, ideas  then  prevalent  in  France,  from  which 
country  Mr.  JeflEerson  had  recently  returned  thoroughly 
imbued  with  a  distaste  for  all  titles,  even  for  one  so 
harmless  as  Esquire,  and  with  a  passion  for  that  plainness 
of  dress  and  that  freedom  of  intercourse  which  subse- 
quently gave  rise  to  the  expression  Jeffersonian  Sim- 
plicity.^^ The  political  literature  of  the  time  abounds 
in  slurs  and  sneers  regarding  the  manners  of  the  execu- 
tive mansion ;  and  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  the 
popular  dislike  of  the  little,  harmless,  pomp  and  pag- 
eantry there  displayed  had  much  to  do  with  re-enforcing 
the  ranks  of  opposition  to  the  dominant  influences  of 
the  administration. 

Let  us  now  proceed  to  contemplate  the  foreign  re- 
lations of  Washington's  first  term.  The  inauguration 
of  the  government  found  these  in  a  most  unsatisfactory 
condition.  The  United  States  had  not  acquired  by  war 
so  much  reputation  among  the  nations  of  Europe  as  we 
are  apt  to  imagine.  The  alliance  with  France  had,  in- 
deed, been  subsequent  to  the  surrender  of  Burgoyne  at 
Saratoga  ;  but  the  long  interval  of  despondency  which 
followed,  and  the  achievement  of  the  victory  at  York- 


100  THE  MAKING  OP  THE  NATION 


town  so  conspicuously  through  the  aid  of  the  Frepcl) 
army  and  the  French  fleet,  had  not  unnaturally  tended 
to  produce  abroad  the  belief  that  the  colonists  owed  theit 
independence  more  to  the  prowess  of  their  ally  than  to 
their  own  strensrth.    Nor  was  French  deli- 

Weaikn  ess 

in  foreign  re-  cacy  likely  to  disparage  the  services  of 
a  ions.  Rochambeau  and  de  Grasse.  Regular  troops 
serving  with  militia  and  volunteeers,  even  of  their  own 
nationality,  never  do  justice  to  them;  much  less -are 
they  likely  to  do  so  when  of  another  race  and  another 
speech.  If  such  had  been  the  division  of  honors  be- 
tween the  allies  in  the  closing  scenes  of  the  struggle 
which  we  denominate  the  War  of  the  Revolution,  the 
conduct  of  our  foreign  affairs  under  the  Confederation, 
from  1781-89,  had  not  been  of  a  character  to  exalt  our 
national  credit.  Enough  has  been  said  of  the  weakness 
of  that  government  in  its  foreign  aspects.  That  weak- 
ness had  made  more  bitter  the  enmity  of  England ;  had 
come  nigh  to  alienating  fast  friends,  like  France  and 
Holland  ;  and  had  inspired  contempt  for  the  young  re- 
public among  the  neutral  and  indifferent  nations  of 
Europe.  Toward  England  we  were  delinquent  in  fail- 
ing to  comply  with  provisions  of  the  treaty  of  peace 
which  provided  for  the  payment  of  debts  due  to  British 
merchants  by  American  citizens,  and  which  looked  to 
the  restitution  of  the  estates  of  royalists  confiscated 
under  State  laws.  Toward  France  and  Holland  we  were 
delinquent  in  respect  to  moneys  borrowed  in  our  neces- 
sity. With  Spain  we  had  a  standing  quarrel  regarding 
the  boundary  of  Florida  and  the  navigation  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi. Toward  other  powers  our  attitude  was  merely 
that  of  a  weak  confederation,  without  means  of  enforc- 
ing its  decrees  upon  the  constituent  members,  even  in  a 
matter  so  purely  federal  as  a  treaty  of  commerce. 

Such  were  the  difficulties  under  which  the  new  nation, 


WASHINGTON'S  FIRST  TERM 


101 


with  its  new  Constitution^  entered  upon  its  career  as  one 
of  the  powers  of  the  world.  But  those  difficulties  were 
only  such  as  the  United  States  might  reasonably  hope  to 
overcome  by  steady  adherence  to  the  policy  of  avoiding 
entangling  alliances,  of  cultivating  carefully  its  financial 
credit,  and  of  devoting  its  energies  in  peace  to  the  de- 
velopment of  its  marvellous  natural  advantages  and  re- 
sources. In  his  view  of  the  needs  of  his  country  at  this 
time,  Washington  was  wisest  among  the  wise,  and 
patriotic  above  all.  In  1795  he  wrote  to  Morris,  My 
policy  has  been  and  will  continue  to  be,  while  I  have 
the  honor  to  remain  in  the  administration,  to  maintain 
friendly  terms  with,  but  to  be  independent  of,  all  the 
nations  of  the  earth  ;  to  share  in  the  broils  of  none  ;  to 
fulfil  our  own  engagements ;  to  supply  the  wants  and 
be  the  carriers  for  them  all  ;  being  thoroughly  con- 
vinced that  it  is  our  policy  and  interest  to  do  so.  Noth- 
ing short  of  self-respect  and  that  justice  Yashin 
which  is  essential  to  a  national  character  ton's  policy  of 

1  ,  J    .       1  .  «  T  ueutrality. 

ought  to  mvolve  us  m  war  ;  for,  sure  I  am,  if 
this  country  is  preserved  in  tranquillity  twenty  years 
longer,  it  may  bid  defiance  in  a  just  cause  to  any  power 
whatever ;  such  in  that  time  would  be  its  population, 
wealth,  and  resources. 

We  shall  see  how  the  progress  of  the  revolutionary 
movement  in  France  and  the  tremendous  wars  which 
arose  out  of  that  event,  in  spite  of  the  warnings  and  the 
influence  of  Washington  drew  the  young  republic  of  the 
western  world  into  their  own  mad  turmoil,  and,  if  they 
did  not  engulf  the  untried  bark  with  its  untried  crew, 
at  least  kept  the  politics  of  the  United  States  in  agita- 
tion for  twenty  years,  diverting  the  attention  of  the 
nation  from  its  own  true  interests.  But  in  the  first 
term  of  Washington's  administration,  of  which  we  now 
speak,  these  things  had  not  taken  place  ;  nor  were  they 


102 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


yet  evident,  in  anything  like  their  full  extent,  even  to 
the  most  prophetic  eye.  We  need  here  only  note  that 
the  government  during  the  first  four  years  of  its  ex- 
istence steadily  improved  its  position  abroad. 

But  while  the  revolution  in  France  had  not  yet  dis- 
turbed the  foreign  relations  of  the  United  States,  it 
had  gone  far  to  intensify  the  bitterness  of  parties  here, 
and  to  draw  deep  lines  across  the  face  of  the  republic. 
The  new  Constitution  of  France  had  been  adopted  after 
the  inauguration  of  our  own  government ;  but  before  the 
close  of  1792  revolutionary  frenzy  had  proceeded  to  the 
point  of  abolishing  monarchy,  soon  followed  by  the 
murder  of  the  king.  The  intensity  of  interest  with 
which  these  events  were  watched  in  the  United  States 
rrench  s  y  m-  Can  scarccly  be  understood  in  this  generation. 

pathizers.  rp^^  explanations  are  necessary  before  we  can 
see  how  it  was  that  the  Kepublicans,  so  called,  of  that 
day  could  g;ive  themselves  to  the  French  cause  with 
such  passionate  eagerness.  The  first  is  that  the  world 
had  not  yet  learned  by  sad  experience  that  revolution 
makes  no  people  free.  The  painful  and  humiliating 
spectacle  of  nations  building  up  liberal  constitutions 
and  professing  the  noblest  political  sentiments,  only  to 
fall  into  anarchy  on  the  one  hand,  or  into  tyranny  on 
the  other,  had  not  then  been  repeated  so  often  as  to 
teach  mankind  that  popular  government  is  a  thing  of 
slow  growth,  and  that  those  institutions  only  can  be  du- 
rable which  have  their  roots  deeply  in  the  past  and  have 
grown  into  close  and  intimate  adaptation  to  the  needs, 
feelings,  habits,  and  aspirations  of  their  people.  It  was 
an  age  of  political  optimism,  when  it  was  believed  that 
nations  might  spring  with  a  bound  into  liberty  ;  and 
that  the  execution  of  a  king  or  the  massacre  of  a  privi- 
leged class  would  open  the  way  to  peace  and  order. 

The  second  explanation  of  the  state  of  feeling  which 


WASHINGTON'S  FIRST  TERM  103 


existed  at  the  time  of  which  we  are  writing  is  found  in 
the  wretched  colonialism  which  tainted  our  social  life, 
degraded  our  politics,  and  prevented  the  formation  of  a 
national  literature  during  the  first  fifty  years  of  our 
separate  existence.  Colonialism  is  the  disposition  of  a 
country,  be  it  great  or  small,  to  look  abroad  for  its 
standards  of  action,  thought,  or  manners  ;  not  to  be 
satisfied  with  the  approbation  of  its  own  taste,  judgment, 
and  conscience  ;  to  be  forever  craving  recognition,  no 
matter  how  patronizingly  given.  Colonialism,  which, 
in  other  words,  is  simply  want  of  self-respect  in  a 
community,  was  the  curse  of  our  earlier  politics,  as  it 
was  of  our  earlier  society.  The  States  which  had  be- 
come independent  in  government  were  still  unduly  de- 
pendent in  thought  and  feeling  upon  the  old  world, 
from  which  they  had  cut  themselves  off  by  the  Declara- 
tion of  July  4th.  In  spite  of  the  prophetic  warnings  of 
Washington,  the  whole  nation  acted  as  though  America 
was  of  necessity  to  be  a  tender  to  one  of  the  American 
two  great  powers  which  disputed  the  suprem-  colonialism, 
acy  of  Europe.  Few  and  faint  are  the  traces  of  any- 
thing like  a  true  respect  for  the  position  and  future  of  the 
United  States  which  we  find  in  the  political  literature  of 
the  times  ;  while  the  conduct  of  both  parties  was  equally 
far  from  making  good  that  high-sounding  declaration. 

We  hold  them,  as  we  hold  the  rest  of  mankind,  ene- 
mies in  war,  in  peace  friends. 

Certain  other  events  and  measures  remain  to  be  con- 
sidered before  we  can  take  leave  of  Washington's  first 
term.  Foremost  among  these  is  the  war  with  the 
Indians  northwest  of  the  river  Ohio.  The  policy  of 
the  whites,  from  the  first  settlement  of  the  country  to 
the  inauguration  of  the  Constitution,  had  generally 
been  to  postpone  contests  with  the  Indian  tribes  ;  to 
evade  the  inevitable  issue  ;  and,  by  playing  off  one 


104 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


chieftain  against  another^  one  tribe  against  another,  to 
reduce  the  strength  of  the  savages  without  engaging  in 
a  distinct  struggle  for  supremacy.  The  War  of  the 
Kevolution  had  incidentally  destroyed  the  prestige  and 
almost  the  existence  of  some  of  the  most  formidable 
tribes ;  and  the  concentration  of  the  fighting  power  of 
the  nation  in  a  single  hand,  together  with  the  owner- 
ship by  the  general  government  of  the  western  lands 
formerly  held  by  the  several  States,  had  tended  to  .pro- 
duce a  greater  readiness  to  meet  the  issue  frankly  and 
at  once.  Accordingly,  we  find  much  less  of  a  disposi- 
tion to  resort  to  indirection  in  accomplishing  the  settle- 
ment of  the  country  contiguous  to  the  range  of  hostile 
tribes.  The  occasions  for  conflict  were  not  far  to  seek. 
Kentucky  and  Tennessee  were  already  partially  occupied ; 
and  population  was  pushing  across  the  Alleghanies  into 
the  fertile  lands  of  the  Ohio  and  the  Wabash,  The  be- 
ginnings of  the  future  State  of  Ohio  had  already  been 
made  at  Marietta.  Murders  by  the  savages  were  con- 
tinually reported  to  influence  the  public  mind  ;  and 
early  in  1790  a  powerful  expedition  under  General 
War  with  the  Harmcr  was  despatched  to  subdue  the  Miamis 
Miamis.  ^^^^  chastisc  their  confederates.  This  ex- 
pedition met  a  severe  repulse  at  the  junction  of  the 
Great  Wabash  and  the  Wabash  of  the  Lakes.  Early  in 
the  next  year  Colonel  Scott,  with  a  mounted  force, 
pushed  into  the  Indian  country,  and  by  rapid  move- 
ments achieved  some  partial  successes  ;  but  in  the  fall 
of  that  year  General  Arthur  St.  Clair,  with  a  powerful 
army,  was  routed  with  terrible  slaughter  by  this  deter- 
mined confederacy.  His  defeat  led  to  the  appointment 
of  General  Anthony  Wayne,  the  hero  of  Stony  Point, 
who  had  ten  years  before  distinguished  himself  in  battle 
against  the  Creeks  of  the  South.  General  Wayne  was 
destined  to  become  the  pacificator  of  this  vast  region ; 


WASHII>rGTON'S  FIRST  TERM  105 


but  his  preparations  carried  the  war  over  into  the  second 
term  of  Washington,  the  final  defeat  of  the  Indians 
taking  place  in  1794,  and  the  treaty  by  which  they  ceded 
their  lands  bearing  date  1795. 

It  may  be  asked,  Why  should,  how  could,  the  United 
States  make  a  treaty with  some  of  its  own  inhabi- 
tants ?  The  answer  to  this  question  will  Relations  of 
serve  to  indicate  the  highly  peculiar  position  the  govern^ 
which,  from  the  beginning  of  the  govern- 
ment  down  to  1871,  was  held  by  the  Indian  tribes 
within  our  domain.  This  position  was  that  of  domes- 
tic dependent  nations, in  the  phrase  of  Chief-Justice 
Marshall.  Their  exclusive  right  to  occupy  the  land 
they  had  inherited  from  their  ancestors,  until  such  time 
as  they  should  voluntarily  cede  it  to  the  United  States, 
was  fully  recognized  in  the  policy  of  the  government,  in 
annual  acts  of  Congress,  and  in  numerous  treaties  rati- 
fied by  the  Senate.  Of  course  they  could  not  cede 
their  land  to  any  foreign  government.  Kesiding  thus 
upon  their  territory,  the  Indian  tribes  which  were 
not  within  the  limits  of  any  State  were,  as  a  rule,  left 
to  govern  themselves  as  to  all  internal  affairs,  according 
to  their  own  laws  and  traditions,  or  as  their  own  inter- 
ests and  passions  might  dictate.  The  right  of  the 
United  States  to  intervene,  at  any  time,  in  the  punish- 
ment of  crime  was  fully  asserted  ;  but,  as  a  matter  of 
policy,  the  United  States  forebore  to  assume  the  re- 
sponsibility for  the  administration  of  justice  between 
Indian  and  Indian  in  the  same  tribe.  The  Agent ap- 
pointed to  any  tribe  was  at  once  a  sort  of  pension-agent, 
to  disburse  the  annuities  provided  for  by  treaty  or  the 
supplies  voted  by  Congress  out  of  charity,  and  a  sort  of 
minister-resident  at  the  court  or  in  the  camp  of  a  do- 
mestic, dependent  nation,  which,  so  long  as  it  kept  the 
peace.  Congress  chose  to  indulge,  or  perhaps  felt  it 


106 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


right  to  entrust^  with  self-government.  To  this  policy 
there  had  been  a  certain  reservation  to  the  effect  that  a 
tribe  might  become  so  degraded  or  reduced  in  num- 
bers (Justice  McLean^  6  Peters,  593,  594)  as  to  fall 
out  of  its  high  estate  and  become  fully  subject  to  the 
ordinary  control  of  thu  law. 

In  pursuance  of  this  policy  the  United  States  made, 
as  I  count  them,  three  hundred  and  eighty-two  treaties 
Indian  trea-  with  Indian  tribes,  down  to  the  time  when, 
ties.  1871,  Congress  declared  that,  Hereafter 

no  Indian  nation  or  tribe  within  the  territory  of  the 
United  States  shall  be  acknowledged  or  recognized  as  an 
independent  nation,  tribe,  or  power  with  whom  the 
United  States  may  contract  by  treaty. These  would 
have  seemed  bold  words,  the  very  tallest  of  tall  talk,^' 
to  Anthony  Wayne.  Times  had,  indeed,  changed  ;  and 
men^s  minds  had  naturally  changed  with  them.  But, 
in  the  period  with  which  we  are  here  dealing,  it  was 
not  deemed  derogatory  to  the  national  honor  and  dig- 
nity to  make  treaties  with  the  Indian  tribes  ;  and  the 
government  was,  in  general,  only  anxious  about  getting 
the  better  of  the  bargain. 

Kecurring  to  the  Miamis,  it  is  curious  to  observe  that 
the  Federalists  and  the  Antifederalists,  while  agreed  as 
to  the  necessity  of  war,  found  opportunity  for  antago- 
nizing each  other,  in  preparing  for  the  conflict,  as  to 
the  use  of  militia  or  of  regulars. The  first  suggestion 
of  enlarging  the  army  for  this  purpose  brought  up  again 
to  Mr.  Jefferson^s  eager  mind  '^^the  corrupt  squadrons 
in  Congress  which  had  filled  his  vision  during  the 
progress  of  Mr.  Hamilton's  funding  measures.  ^'  The 
least  rag  of  Indian  depredation, he  writes,  will  be  an 
excuse  to  raise  troops,  for  those  who  love  to  have  troops 
and  for  those  who  think  the  public  debt  is  a  good 
thing."'    The  same  question  arose  in  connection  with 


WASHINGTON'S  FIKST  TERM  107 


all  the  early  Indian  troubles  ;  and  Mr.  Jefferson^s  party 
invariably  opposed  the  organization  of  regular  troops  for 
the  purpose,  and  demanded  the  use  of  local  Regulars  vs. 
militia.  While  government  was  thus  en-  mmtia. 
gaged  in  desperate  contest  with  Indians  in  the  North- 
west, the  people  of  Georgia  became  embroiled  with  the 
Creeks,  who  still  held  a  large  part  of  the  territory  now 
embraced  in  that  State ;  but  the  earnest  efforts  of 
Washington  to  prevent  an  outbreak  here  were  for  the 
time  successful. 

Congress  first  met  under  the  Constitution  at  New, 
Ygrk.  The  struggle  as  to  the  permanent  location  of  the 
seat  of  government  was  marked  by  an  inten- 

^  The  perma- 

sity  of  feeling  which  found  expression  in  a  nent  seat  of 
bitter  sectional  strife.  The  southern  mem-  s^^®^^®^^' 
bers  proposed  the  banks  of  the  Potomac  ;  and  this  sug- 
gestion was  very  grateful  to  Washington,  whose  own 
home  was  Mount  Vernon.  The  northern  members  de- 
sired to  have  the  capital  in  their  section.  It  seems  to 
have  been  generally  agreed  that  the  capital  must  be  on 
some  river,  because  Eome  was  on  the  Tiber  ;  and  nearly 
half  the  rivers  of  the  country  were,  first  or  last,  brought 
into  the  debate.  The  question,  finally,  was  made  a  part 
of  a  parliamentary  bargain.  The  advocates  of  the  as- 
sumption of  State  debts  adroitly  got  the  two  issues  joined 
together,  and,  finally,  by  that  most  dangerous  form  of 
political  corruption  known  as  "  log-rolling,^^  *  both 
measures  were  carried  together.  The  result  was  that 
Congress  was  to  meet  for  ten  years  at  Philadelphia,  and 
afterward  have  its  home  on  the  Potomac.  Maryland  and 
Virginia  made  cession  of  a  district,  ten  miles  square,  on 
both  sides  of  the  Potomac,  to  become  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment.   The  Virginia  portion  was  subsequently  retro- 


*  "  You  help  roU  my  log,  and  I  will  help  roll  yours." 


108 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


ceded^  as  not  needed  for  the  purpose.  The  Maryland 
cession  is  known  as  the  District  of  Columbia. 

In  providing  for  the  election  of  the  First  Congress, 
the  Constitution  apportioned  the  total  number  of  Eepre- 

Redistribu  ^^^^^^^^^^ — sixty-five — among  the  States,  ac- 
tion of  repre-  cording  to  certain  rude  estimates  of  numbers. 

The  first  census  having  been  taken  in  1790, 
the  number  was  fixed  at  one  hundred  and  five ;  and 
these  were  reapportioned  among  the  States  according 
to  their  ascertained  population,  three-fifths  of  the  slaves 
being  included  in  the  schedule,  according  to  one  of  the 
compromises  of  the  Constitution.  The  population  of  the 
country  had  been  ascertained  to  be  3,929,214.  The 
four  largest  States  were,  in  order,  Virginia,  Massachu- 
setts, Pennsylvania,  New  York,  '^^he  three  smallest^ 
Georgia,  Khode  Island,  Delaware. 

Under  the  provision  of  the  Constitution  that  ^*no 
person  held  to  service  or  labor  in  one  State,  under  the 
laws  thereof,  escaping  into  another  shall,  in  consequence 
of  any  law  or  regulation  therein,  be  discharged  from 
such  service  or  labor,  but  shall  be  delivered  up  on  claim 
of  the  party  to  whom  such  service  or  labor  may  be  due,"^ 
Congress,  on  the  5th  of  February,  1793,  passed  the  first 
Fugitive  Slave  Law.    The  measure  at  the  time  aroused 

The  first  ^^^^^^  opposition,  and  indeed  attracted  slight 
Fugitive  Slave  attention,  though  it  will  appear  in  a  later 
volume  of  this  series  that  the  Fugitive  Slave 
Act  of  1850  set  the  nation  on  fire.  The  change  was 
mainly  in  the  times.  While  the  later  law  contained 
some  features  which  were  very  objectionable  from  a 
purely  legal  point  of  view,  it  is  questionable  whether 
that  of  1793  was  not  worse.  Under  it  gangs  of  slave- 
hunters  perpetrated  a  great  amount  of  most  brutal  kid- 
napping of  colored  persons  on  whom  no  master  had  even 
a  shadow  of  a  claim. 


WASHINGTON'S  FIRST  TERM 


109 


Two  States  were  admitted  to  the  Union  during  Wash- 
ington's first  term :  Vermont,  March,  1791,  with  a 
population,  by  the  census  of  1790,  of  85,425  ;  Admission  of 
Kentucky,  June,  1792,  with  73,677  inhabi-  newstates. 
tants,  of  whom  11,430  were  slaves.  Vermont  was  formed 
from  territory  long  disputed,  under  royal  grants,  be- 
tween New  York  and  New  Hampshire,  but  undoubtedly 
belonging  to  New  York.  Kentucky  was  formed  from 
territory  belonging  to  Virginia. 

The  admission  of  Vermont  introduced  no  new  element 
into  the  Union.  The  admission  of  Kentucky  marks 
the  first  operation  of  a  force  which  was  to  exert  a  tre- 
mendous and  always  increasing  influence  upon  the  des- 
tinies of  the  republic,  and  even  upon  the  nature  of  the 
government  itself.  It  does  not  seem  too  much  to  say 
that  but  for  the  growth  of  great  communities  upon 
the  western  territory,  and  their  admission,  one  after 
another,  as  new  States,  the  least  probable  result  of  the 
formation  of  the  Union  in  1789  is  that  it  would  have 
continued  to  our  time.  Massachusetts,  New  York, 
Virginia,  South  Carolina,  had  existed  as  separate  commu- 
nities before  confederation  had  been  practically  accom- 
plished. Each  had  its  laws  and  social  institutions,  its 
consciousness  of  statehood,  its  definite  character,  its 
history.  When  these  communities  entered  into  the 
Union,  it  was,  even  for  those  most  strongly  federalist  in 
feeling,  inevitably  with  large  reservations  of  pride,  in- 
terest, and  affection ;  with  some  grudging  as  to  every 
grant  of  power  to  the  new  government ;  with  much  of 
hesitation,  jealousy,  and  suspicion  regarding  the  motives 
and  actions  of  its  allies.  How  different  the  case  in  re- 
spect to  the  States  which,  during  the  next  twenty  or 
fifty  years,  were  to  be  introduced  into  the  giant  league 
from  the  territory  beyond  the  AUeghenies  !  What  is 
about  to  be  said  of  them  was  not  wholly  true  of  Ken- 


110 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


tucky^  because  of  the  close  relations  of  that  colony  with 
Virginia  ;  but  in  general  it  may  be  asserted  that  they 
came  into  the  Union  with  vastly  less  of  reservation,  both 
of  purpose  and  of  feeling,  than  was  possible  to  any  of 
the  original  members.  They  had  grown  up,  as  weak 
and  isolated  communities,  upon  territory  belonging  in 
fee  to  the  United  States,  and  under  the  protection  of  its 
military  power.  They  had  been  governed,  while  in  a 
territorial  condition,  directly  by  the  United  States,  with 
such  concessions  as  to  local  self-government  as  might 
seem  to  Congress  for  their  good.  They  had  learned, 
from  the  very  first,  to  look  to  the  general  government 
for  protection  against  the  Indians,  for  the  means  of 
opening  their  rivers  to  navigation,  for  the  survey  of 
their  lands.  If,  in  their  zeal  for  the  old  flag — and  an 
appropriation,^^  something  of  greed  mingled  with  the 
impulses  of  patriotism,  this  was  yet  all  for  the  increase 
of  national  feeling  and  the  strengthening  of  the  bonds  of 

Influence  of  Union.  No  one  can  rightly  read  the  history 
Am^fcanTa^.  of  the  United  States  who  does  not  recognize 
tionaiity.  prodigious  influence  exerted  in  the  di- 

rection of  unreserying  nationality  by  the  growth  of 
great  communities  beyond  the  mountains,  and  their 
successive  admission  as  States  of  the  Union. 

Such,  as  we  now,  after  the  fact,  regard  it,  was  the  in- 
fluence of  the  Great  West  upon  the  fortunes,  and  even 

Fears  of  the  the  fate,  of  the  republic.  The  forecast  of 
SnvenSon  of  that  influence  by  the  men  of  the  Oonstitu- 
tional  Convention  had  been  less  favorable,  if, 
indeed,  it  may  not  be  said  to  have  been  gloomy  in  the  ex- 
treme. At  various  stages  of  the  debate,  apprehensions 
were  expressed  regarding  the  power  of  the  new  States 
which  were  to  be  formed  within  the  public  territory. 
To  prevent  the  Eastern  States  from  being  ultimately 
overwhelmed  from  this  source,  it  had  even  been  pro- 


WASHIIS^GTOIN^'S  FIRST  TERM 


111 


posed  to  limit  the  number  of  Kepresentatives  in  Con- 
gress which  should  ever  be  allowed,  in  the  aggregate,  to 
States  beyond  the  AUeghenies. 

But  while  the  opinion  we  have  expressed  regarding 
the  influence  of  the  West  upon  the  main  point  of  the 
stability  and  the  integrity  of  the  Union  is  thus  highly 
favorable,  it  should  be  added  that  two  dangers,  one  tem- 
porary, the  other  more  permanent,  came  from  this  quar- 
ter. The  transient  danger  alluded  to  is  that  which 
arose,  during  the  first  fifteen  years  under  the  Constitu- 
tion, from  the  passionate  desire  of  the  settlers  beyond 
the  mountains  to  secure  the  free  navigation  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi. To  this  end  these  hardy  pioneers  ^ 
were  ready  almost  to  sacrifice  their  allegiance  tion  ^^of^^l*e 
to  the  Union.  That  a  foreign  power  should 
keep  its  grasp  upon  what  was,  to  them,  of  vital  impor- 
tance, seemed  intolerable ;  and  we  can  hardly  blame  them 
for  their  impatience,  though  a  keener  appreciation  of 
the  difficulties  of  the  new  government  in  attaining  that 
object  would  have  been  more  creditable  to  their  patriot- 
ism. On  the  other  hand,  it  must  be  admitted  that  the 
first  administration,  and  especially  Washington  and 
Judge  Jay,  showed  a  singular  obtuseness  in  dealing  with 
the  eager  demands  of  the  West  upon  this  point.  Wash- 
ington, having  penetrated  as  a  surveyor  beyond  the 
mountains,  even  before  the  outbreak  of  the  French  War, 
had  become  so  deeply  interested  in  projects  for  opening 
up  communication  between  the  West  and  the  seaboard 
as  to  be  almost  infatuated  with  that  idea,  believing  that, 
in  the  matter  of  transportation,  all  would  thus  be  effect- 
ed which  the  West  could  reasonably  ask.  Jay,  on  his 
part,  held,  with  the  utmost  sincerity  and  disinterested- 
ness, that  the  benefits  which  would  result  to  the  whole 
country  from  favorable  commercial  treaties  with  Spain, 
would  be  so  great  as  fairly  to  justify  the  government  in 


112  THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


asking  the  western  people  to  submit,  for  twenty-five 
years  longer,  to  restrictions  upon  the  navigation  of  the 
Mississippi.  There  are  few  things  more  instructive  than 
the  fact  that  men  like  Washington  and  Jay  could  have 
been  so  far  wrong  in  such  a  vital  matter. 

The  second  and  more  permanent  danger  arising  to 
the  country  from  the  influence  of  the  AVestern  States, 
has  been  through  the  aversion  of  the  people  of  that  re- 
gion to  measures  proposed  in  the  interest  of  financial  in- 
.  ,  tegrity,  commercial  credit,  and  the  national 

Fins  ncial 

unsoundness  honor.    The  oppositiou  from  this  Quartcr  to 

of  the  West 

proper  laws  regarding  bankruptcies,  and  the 
predilection  there  manifested  for  cheap  money,  have 
been  a  constant  menace  and  a  frequent  cause  of  mischief. 
This,  however,  we  may  regard  as  due  to  the  stage  of  set- 
tlement and  civilization  reached.  As  fast  as  manufact- 
ures, commerce,  and  banking  have  made  their  way  into 
that  section,  the  communities  concerned  have  become 
sound  and  conservative. 

The  consent  of  Washington  to  be  a  candidate  for  re- 
election put  at  rest  all  thoughts  of  a  contest  for  the 
presidency  in  1792.    Faction  had  not  raised 

The  second  . 

presidential  itsclf  SO  high  as  to  disputc  his  pre-cmincnt 
election.  claims  to  the  confidence  and  respect  of  his 
countrymen.  Not  only  did  his  position  and  reputation 
make  it  vain  for  any  body  of  men,  if  so  disposed,  to  as- 
sail him  ;  but  his  impartiality,  his  truthfulness,  and  his 
singleness  of  patriotic  purpose  had  enabled  him  so  to 
mediate  between  the  embittered  factions  in  his  cabinet 
and  in  Congress  that  each  by  turns  was  ready  to  accept 
his  action  in  all  important  cases  as  wise  and  just.  It 
was  fortunate  for  the  young  republic  that  its  great  lead- 
er still  lived  and  gave  to  its  councils  his  benign  presence, 
thus  securing  a  short  interval  of  comparative  repose. 
The  contests  between  the  Federalists  and  the  Kepubli- 


Washington's  first  term  113 


cans  had  become  so  bitter  and  furious  that,  had  either 
controlled  the  executive  office  in  the  critical  times  of 
1793-97,  the  results  might  have  been  disastrous  to  our 
destinies.  Monocrats^^  was  the  mildest  term  which 
Jefferson  could  find  whereby  to  characterize  the  party 
of  Hamilton,  Adams,  and  Jay,  while  the  Federalists 
hurled  back  the  epithet  "  Jacobins,  in  allusion  to  the 
crazed  and  bloodthirsty  revolutionists  of  France.  Nei- 
ther party  was  content  to  charge  the  other  with  less  than 
disloyalty  to  the  Constitution. 

The  consent  of  Washington  to  be  a  candidate  took  the 
life  out  of  the  election  of  1792,  although  the  Eepubli- 
cans  made  an  ineffectual  and  perhaps  not  tj^^  re-eiec- 
very  sincere  effort  to  capture  the  vice-presi-  -^gton  ^*nd 
dency  by  running, in  the  phrase  of  our  Adams, 
modern  politics,  George  Clinton,  the  War  Governor^' 
of  New  York,  and  still  the  incumbent  of  that  office,  a 
man  of  great  natural  powers,  a  hard  fighter  and  a  bitter 
hater,  who  had  made  himself  peculiarly  obnoxious  to 
the  Federalists,  not  only  by  his  opposition  to  the  ratifi- 
cation of  the  Constitution,  but  by  his  conduct  and  bear- 
ing upon  all  occasions.  He  received  50  votes,  viz.,  all 
21  of  Virginia ;  all  13  of  New  York  ;  all  12  of  North 
Carolina  ;  all  4  of  Georgia  ;  and  1  from  Pennsylvania. 
Adams  received  77  votes.  Five  were  scattering. 
Washington  received  an  unanimous  vote,  132  in  all ;  and 
the  new  government  was  inaugurated  March  4,  1793. 
Clinton^s  vote  is  scarcely  to  be  accepted  as  showing  the 
actual  strength  of  the  opposition.  The  fact  that  the 
Eepublicans  were  precluded  from  nominating  a  presi- 
dent distinctly  of  their  own  side,  was  calculated  to  pre- 
vent their  putting  forth  much  effort  to  capture  an  office 
comparatively  insignificant.  Their  power  would  be  bet- 
ter measured  by  the  result  of  the  elections  to  the  House 
of  Kepresentatives,  in  which  that  party  secured  a  major- 
8 


114  THE  MAKING  OF  THE  KATIOJi 


ity.  The  Senate,  however,  from  the  fact  that  the  popu- 
lar strength  of  the  Republicans  was,  as  yet,  chiefly  in  the 
large  States,  as  well  as  from  the  longer  duration  of  the 
senatorial  term,  remained  strongly  Federalist.  We  have 
thus,  only  four  years  from  the  beginning,  that  distinct 
opposition  of  the  two  branches  of  the  legislature,  the 
possibility  of  which  many  persons  regard  as  largely  neu- 
tralizing the  advantages  of  our  form  of  government. 


\^  CHAPTER  VII 

WASHINGTON'S  SECOND  TERM 

Foreign  Relations — The  Genet  Episode — Difficulties  with  France 
— England  and  France  Vying  with  each  Other  in  Wrong  to  the 
United  States— With  which  should  We  go  to  War  V— The 
Whiskey  Insurrection — The  Militia  Called  Out — Democratic 
Societies — The  Funding  System — The  Admission  of  Tennes- 
see— Oliver  Ellsworth  becomes  Chief -Justice — The  Eleventh 
Amendment  to  the  Constitution — The  Disruption  of  the  Cabi- 
net and  the  Movement  of  Parties— Jefferson's  Commercial  Re- 
port— New  Cabinet  Appointments — Randolph  Retires  from 
Office  under  a  Cloud — Hamilton  Resigns  :  His  Services  to  the 
New  Government — Knox  is  Succeeded  by  Timothy  Pickering 
— Washington's  Last  Cabinet  :  Painful  Decline  in  Ability — 
Party  Divisions  go  Rapidly  Forward — The  Third  Presiden- 
tial Election :  John  Adams  Chosen — Jefferson  becomes  Vice- 
President,  though  of  the  Opposite  Party — Defective  Method  of 
Choosing  President  and  Vice-President. 

Let  us  speak  of  the  foreign  relations  of  Washington's 
second  term,  and  first,  of  the  Genet  episode.  Early  in 
1793  France  proclaimed  war  against  Great  Britain  and 
Holland.  It  is  not  necessary  to  go  into  the  reasons,  or 
pretexts,  put  forward  to  justify  her  act.  On  April  22d, 
as  in  duty  bound.  President  Washington  issued  a  proc- 
lamation of  neutrality.  Close  upon  this  occurred  an  ex- 
traordinary series  of  events,  which  we  have  chosen  to 
call  the  Genet  episode.  The  Federalists,  indeed,  insisted 
that  the  acts  of  Genet  were  under  instructions  from  his 
government  and  constituted  a  part  of  its  poli^ey.  But 
as  it  appears  that  much  of  what  Genet  did  was  the 
result  of  his  own  Jacobinical  fanaticism,  his  extrava- 


116 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


gance^  and  bad  temper,  we  prefer  to  isolate  all  those 
things  which  were  not  unmistakably  chargeable  to  the 
French  government,  and  to  style  them  the  Genet  episode. 

Mr.  Edmond  C.  Genet,  or  Citizen  Genet/^  as  he  was 
called,  under  the  frivolous  democratic  impulse  in  France 
The  Genet  (imitated,  for  a  time,  more  frivolously  in  the 

episode.  United  States)  to  abolish  all  titles,  having 
been  appointed  minister  from  France  to  this  country, 
arrived  at  Charleston,  S.C.,  on  April  8th.  With  an  ex- 
traordinary contempt  for  the  authority  to  which  he  was 
accredited,  he  immediately  set  about  enlisting  American 
citizens  for  service  against  Great  Britain,  and  fitting  out 
and  commissioning  vessels  against  the  enemies  of  France. 
From  Charleston  to  Philadelphia,  after  a  considerable 
delay,  he  journeyed  in  a  sort  of  Jacobinical  procession, 
receiving  ovations  from  the  admirers  of  the  French  Con- 
vention, and  declaiming  against  those  who  should  seek 
to  restrain  the  United  States  from  active  co-operation 
with  France  :  all  after  a  fashion  derogatory  to  our  na- 
tional dignity  and  compromising  our  neutral  position. 

After  Genet^'s  arrival  in  Philadelphia  he  made  direct 
issue  with  the  government  on  several  points  which  were 
decided  against  him,  even  Mr.  Jefferson  repudiating  his 
claims  ;  and  had  the  astonishing  impudence  to  appeal  to 
Congress  and  the  country  against  the  administration. 
He  insisted  upon  his  right,  under  the  treaty  of  1778,  to 
arm  vessels  and  to  try  and  sell  prizes  in  American  ports.* 
In  spite  of  expressed  prohibitions,  the  consuls  of  France, 
at  his  instigation,  exercised  admiralty  powers  in  holding 
courts  and  in  condemning  and  selling  prizes.  His  inso- 
lence only  grew  by  contradiction,  until,  encouraged  by 
the  democratic  frenzy  aroused  in  many  parts  of  the 
United  States  by  the  progress  of  the  French  Eevolution, 

*  It  was  not  in  dispute  that  French  privateers  and  prizes  were  entitled 
to  shelter  in  American  ports. 


WASHINGTON'S  SECOND  TERM 


117 


which  had  now  proceeded  to  a  Eeign  of  Terror,  and  by 
the  formation  here  of  Democratic  Societies  "  for  the 
purpose  of  giving  sympathy  and  support  to  the  revolu- 
tionary movement  in  Europe,  Genet  broke  all  diplomatic 
bounds.  He  insulted  the  President  and  his  advisers  ; 
set  on  foot  within  our  territory  military  expeditions 
against  the  Spanish  dominions  ;  issued  commissions  for 
enlistment ;  and,  in  the  case  of  the  Little  Sarah,  a 
prize  that  had  been  fitted  up  as  a  privateer,  openly  de- 
fied the  government.  It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that, 
after  such  acts,  the  French  consul  at  Boston,  M.  Du- 
plaine,  should  have  dared  to  rescue  a  vessel  by  armed 
force  out  of  the  hands  of  a  United  States  marshal.  M. 
Duplaine  was,  however,  made  to  learn  the  difference  be- 
tween an  ambassador  and  a  consul  in  point  of  privilege. 
His  exequatur  was  promptly  revoked. 

These  outrageous  acts  of  Genet  at  a  very  early  date 
called  for  remonstrance  by  our  government  with  France  ; 
and,  the  fanatical  minister  still  persisting  in  his  acts  of 
contempt,  his  recall  was  requested.  A  successor  was  ap- 
pointed by  the  government  of  France,  which,  as  the 
party  to  which  Genet  belonsjed  had  already 

.  Genet  retires. 

fallen  from  power,  was  at  no  pains  to  spare 
its  minister  humiliation.  Genet,  having  reason  to  fear 
he  might  be  made  to  taste  the  sweets  of  liberty  in  the 
arms  of  La  Guillotine,  wisely  concluded  not  to  return 
home.  He  remained  in  the  United  States  ;  married  a 
daughter  of  Governor  Clinton  ;  became  a  citizen,  and 
left  children  and  grandchildren  who  were  Americans  by 
birth. 

Stripped  of  the  extravagance  and  folly  of  Genet^s 
demonstrations,  the  claims  of  France  upon  us  were  two. 
First  that,  by  a  stipulation  in  the  treaty  of  alliance 
(1778),  the  United  States  was  expressly  bound  to  guar- 
antee against  all  enemies  the  French  possessions  in 


118  THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


America.  Of  the  cabinet,  Hamilton  and  Knox  main- 
tained that  this  guarantee  was  applicable  only  to  a  de- 
T  h  e  dispute  f ensive  War  ;  and  hence  was  not  binding  in 
with  France.  present  war,  which  was  commenced  by 
France.  Jefferson  and  Eandolph,  without  touching  the 
latter  point,  recommended  the  issue  of  the  proclamation 
of  neutrality  spoken  of  above.  The  question  of  guar- 
antee Jefferson  regarded  as  reserved  to  the  meeting '  of 
Congress,  which  alone  could,  in  his  opinion,  properly 
judge  of  the  effect  of  the  treaty.  Secondly,  the  French 
*V  government  claimed  that  the  United  States  was  bound 
to  give  the  French  government,  in  case  of  war,  peculiar 
facilities  for  fitting  out  privateers  within  our  ports,  and 
for  the  trial  and  condemnation  of  prizes.  This  claim 
was  based  upon  the  article  by  which  the  parties  agreed 
not  to  permit  the  enemies  of  either  to  fit  out  privateers 
in  their  ports.  The  express  prohibition  of  this  privilege 
to  enemies  the  French  considered  as  implying  a  promise 
to  the  parties  themselves.  This  claim  the  United  States 
peremptorily  denied  ;  and  there  can  be  little  question  of 
the  rightfulness  of  that  position.  No  nation  ought  to 
allow  itself  to  be  dragged  into  war,  against  its  wishes 
and  its  interests,  by  a  stipulation  of  such  doubtful  sig- 
nificance. Nothing  but  the  extravagant  sympathy  of 
the  Republicans  with  the  French  cause  could  have  made 
an  accession  to  this  proposal  possible.  On  the  other 
hand,  perhaps  nothing  but  the  effrontery  of  Genet  and 
the  stern,  calm  decision  of  Washington  would,  against 
the  Jacobinical  frenzy  of  the  hour,  have  prevented  such 
a  lamentable  result.  But,  whatever  may  have  been  the 
claims  of  France  upon  us,  as  her  ancient  ally  and  by 
virtue  of  the  treaty  of  1778,  she  soon  forfeited  all  right 
to  peculiar  consideration  by  ordering  that  neutral  vessels 
containing  goods  belonging  to  her  enemies  should  be 
captured,  and  also  by  laying  an  embargo  upon  our 


Washington's  second  term 


119 


shipping  at  Bordeaux,  and  by  other  acts  in  distinct 
violation  of  that  treaty. 

With  England  our  difficulties  were  of  a  more  substan- 
tial, and,  for  the  present,  serious  character.  England 
still  held  our  western  posts,  under  the  plea  Difficulties 
that  the  conditions  of  the  treaty  of  1783  had  Eng- 
not  been  fulfilled  on  our  part ;  and  the  same 
political  forces  which  had  in  vain  urged  an  alliance  with 
France,  for  the  sake  of  France,  urged,  with  more  reason 
and  with  more  prospect  of  success,  a  war  against  Eng- 
land (which  would  have  amounted  to  the  same  thing), 
for  the  sake  of  vindicating  our  national  rights  and  dig- 
nity. But  that  arrogance  which  has  always  marked  the 
commercial  policy  of  England  did  not  long  leave  us  this 
as  the  only  cause  of  war.  In  June,  1793,  that  power 
ordered  that  the  goods  of  neutral  nations,  if  consisting 
of  provisions  for  the  enemy,  should  be  captured  or 
bought  up,  unless  shipped  to  a  friendly  port.  This  was 
followed  by  an  order  that  all  vessels  laden  with  produce 
of  a  French  colony,  or  with  supplies  for  the  same,  were 
lawful  prize.  More  than  all.  Great  Britain  claimed  and 
exercised  the  right  to  impress  into  her  service  seamen 
of  British  birth,  wherever  found,  and  for  this  purpose 
to  stop  and  search  the  ships  of  the  United  States. 

Measures  so  outrageous  made  war,  in  the  then  feel- 
ing of  the  nation,  imminent  and  seemingly  inevitable. 
More  than  all  others,  the  United  States  had  come,  by 
force  both  of  tradition  and  of  interest,  to  represent  and 
champion  the  rights  of  neutral  trade.  Our  carrying 
business  was  very  large  ;  and  our  people  were  fully  de- 
termined to  protect  it,  not  only  from  motives  of  gain 
but  from  sentiments  of  national  pride.  A  temporary 
embargo  upon  American  ports  was  voted  in  March,  1794, 
in  order  that  oar  ships  might  not  be  caught  at  sea  in 
the  event  of  war.    A  bill  was  passed  for  fortifying  cer- 


120  THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


tain  rivers  and  harbors^  and  a  report  was  adopted  largely 
increasing  the  army.  War  would  have  been  justifiable, 
but  the  great  interest  of  the  nation  was  peace.  So 
Washington  saw  it ;  so  we  now  see  it  to  have  been,  and 
in  spite  of  clamor,  in  the  face  of  passion^  the  president 
determined  upon  a  last  effort  for  a  peaceful  solution  of 
the  difficulties.  To  this  end  he  selected  Chief-Justice 
The  Jay    J^J^  a  Federalist,  and  therefore  esteemed -by 

treaty.  ^j^^  opposition  a  friend  of  England,  but  a 
man  of  the  loftiest  character  and  the  most  fervent 
patriotism,  to  proceed  to  England  and  open  negotiations. 
In  November,  1794,  Judge  Jay  concluded  a  treaty  ;  and 
in  June,  1795,  the  Senate  ratified  the  same. 

We  should  despair  of  giving  the  reader  an  idea  of  the 
intensity  of  the  indignation  with  which  the  Eepublican 
party  opposed  the  mission  of  Jay  and  denounced  the  out- 
come. The  debates  on  the  British  Treaty  are  among 
^^^^  •    the  most  memorable  of  the  Senate,  while  the 

Opposi-  ^ 

treaty  agitation  in  the  House  of  Kepresentatives, 

which  was  Eepublican,  and  throughout  the 
country,  was  wholly  unparalleled.  Then  it  was  that 
the  House  struck  out  the  phrase  ^^undiminished  confi- 
dence from  an  address  to  the  president ;  then  it  was 
that  Virginia,  by  her  legislature,  refused  to  declare  her 
trust  in  Washington ;  then  it  was  that  vituperation 
spared  not  the  august  chief  who  had  conducted  the 
States  thus  far  in  war  and  in  peace  with  the  universal 
acclaim  of  his  countrymen.  Anti-treaty  mobs  filled  the 
streets  of  New  York  and  Boston  ;  Jay  was  burned  in 
effigy ;  Hamilton  stoned. 

Looking  back  calmly  at  this  series  of  events  we  can 
say  that,  while  the  treaty  sacrificed  no  American  rights, 
it  granted  far  less  than  our  people  were  entitled  to 
claim  ;  and  was  therefore  open  to  criticism.  The  west- 
ern postewere^^  indeed,  to  be  surrendered,  and  indemnitj' 


WASHINGTON'S  SECOND  TERM  121 


granted  to  the  sufferers  by  search  or  capture,  A  few 
concessions,  also,  were  made  to  American  commerce. 
But,  in  the  main,  the  British  government  maintained 
its  commercial  system  in  full  rigor,  and  by  no  means  re- 
nounced the  right  of  search  and  impressment  on  the 
high  seas.  Those  great  questions  the  Jay  treaty  still 
left  to  be  decided  later,  as  it  proved,  by  the  arbitrament 
of  war ;  but  we  cannot  doubt  that  the  United  States 
were  fortunate  in  attaining  a  postponement  of  that 
contest  until  twenty  years  more  had  nearly  doubled 
their  population  and  had  compacted  the  national 
strength. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  United  States  were 
brought  by  these  differences  with  France  and  with  Eng- 
land into  a  very  singular  and  most  embarrassing  position. 
From  each  of  the  two  antagonists  we  were  receiving  both 
insults  and  injuries.  With  which  should  we  go  to  war  ? 
or,  should  the  young  republic  defy  both  these  powerful 
nations,  and  assert  its  rights  and  interests  against  each 
in  turn  ?  Of  this  dilemma  Jefferson  afterward  wrote  : 
'"The  difficulty  of  selecting  a  foe  between  them  has 
spared  us  many  years  of  war,  and  enabled  us  enemies 
to  enter  into  it  with  less  debt,  more  strength 
and  preparation.  France  has  kept  pace  with  England 
in  iniquity  of  principle,  although  not  in  the  power  of 
inflicting  wrongs  upon  us.^^  The  usurpations  of  Bona- 
parte had  by  that  time  cured  Mr.  Jefferson  of  an  admi- 
ration which  the  '^Keign  of  Terror did  not  abate;  so 
that  he  could  write  :  As  for  France  and  England,  with 
all  their  prominence  in  science,  one  is  a  den  of  robbers 
and  the  other  of  pirates.  It  is  worth  while  to  note 
here  that  the  acts  of  Congress  necessary  to  carrying  into 
effect  the  Jay  treaty  gave  rise  to  a  struggle  in  which  the 
House  of  Kepresentatives  asserted  the  claim  to  have  a 
voice  in  the  adjustment  of  international  relations  under 


122 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


the  form  of  treaties,  a  claim  frequently  reappearing  in 
the  course  of  our  constitutional  history. 

But  if  the  Jay  treaty  settled  provisionally  the  difficul- 
ties with  England,  the  negotiation  and  ratification  of 
that  treaty  proved  a  grave  offence  to  France  ;  and  angry 
remonstrances  and  threats  of  war  came  from  Paris, 
where  Mr.  Monroe  was  representing  the  United  States, 
not  at  all  to  the  satisfaction  of  Washington.  The  French 
government  in  1796  declared  the  alliance  with  the  United 
States  under  the  treaty  of  1778,  which  had  ceased  to  be 
France  re-  importance  to  France  when  our  govern- 
sents  the  Jay  mcnt  rcfuscd  to  be  drawn  by  it  into  hostil- 

treaty.  *' 

ities  with  England,  to  be  at  an  end,  by  reason 
of  the  fact  that  the  United  States  had,  in  the  treaty  with 
Great  Britain,  abandoned  the  principle  that  ^^free  ships 
make  free  goods,  while  naval  stores  and  provisions  were 
rendered  contraband  of  war.  This  France  insisted,  not 
without  some  reason,  was  a  hardship  to  her ;  and  for  a 
time  Spain  and  Holland  seemed  determined  to  make 
common  cause  with  her  to  compel  the  United  States  to 
protect  the  property  of  their  citizens  when  in  American 
vessels.  Spain,  which  on  October  27,  1795,  had  con- 
cluded a  treaty  with  the  United  States,  negotiated  by 
Thomas  Pinckney,  our  minister  to  that  country,  most 
favorable  to  our  claims  in  respect  to  the  navigation  of 
the  Mississippi  and  the  boundary  of  Florida,  now  refused 
to  make  good  the  stipulations  of  that  treaty.  Mr. 
Monroe^s  conduct  of  affairs  at  Paris  being  increasingly 
unsatisfactory  to  the  administration,  that  gentleman  was 
recalled,  and  Charles  C.  Pinckney  was  appointed  in  his 
place.  Mr.  Monroe  returned  home  in  great  dudgeon, 
and  the  French  government  (to  which  Mr.  Monroe  had 
been  highly  grateful refused  to  receive  Mr.  Pinck- 
ney, declaring  that  it  would  not  again  recognize  a  min- 
ister from  the  United  States  until  reparation  had  been 


Washington's  second  term 


123 


afforded  for  the  injuries  which  the  French  nation  had 
suffered.  So  in  clouds  of  war  set  the  sun  of  Washing- 
ton's administration. 

It  now  seems  incredible  that^  not  only  our  own  peo- 
ple, but  the  proudest  and  most  warlike  nations  of 
Europe  should  long  have  paid  tribute  to  the  corsairs  of 
Algiers,  Tripoli,  and  Tunis,  who  claimed  the  sovereignty 
of  the  Mediterranean  ;  yet  such  was  the  fact.  pirates 
We  shall  later  see  by  what  acts  of  heroic  oftheBarbary 

states 

daring  our  young  navy  freed  the  republic 
forever  from  this  shameful  dependence.  It  is  only 
necessary  here  to  refer  to  the  treaty  of  1795  with  the 
Dey  of  Algiers,  who,  on  condition  of  large  payments, 
consented  to  release  the  crews  of  American  merchant- 
men who  had  for  years  been  held  by  him  in  captivity, 
and  thereafter  to  respect  our  commerce. 

Let  us  now  turn  to  the  internal  affairs  of  Washington's 
second  term.  The  year  1795  witnessed  the  successful 
conclusion  of  the  Indian  War  in  the  North-  The  in  d  i  a  n 
west,  against  the  Miamis  and  their  confed- 
erates,  and  the  cession  of  what  is  substantially  the 
present  State  of  Ohio. 

In  noticing  the  passage  of  the  excise  law,  which  im- 
posed duties  on  spirits,  in  Washington's  first  term, 
reference  was  made  to  considerations  which  rendered 
that  tax  peculiarly  odious  and  obnoxious,  especially  at 
the  West.  From  the  first,  grave  trouble  had  been  ex- 
perienced in  collecting  the  revenue  ;  and  . 
soon  actual  resistance  began  to  be  offered  by  key  insurrec- 
the  persons  directly  concerned,  while  large 
districts  became  highly  inflamed.  The  measures  of 
resistance  were,  as  usual  in  such  cases,  compounded  of 
acts  wholly  outrageous  and  unlawful,  mingled  with 
remonstrance,  petition,  and  protest  from  citizens  of 
character  and  standing.    The  movement  soon  became 


124 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


a  really  capital  parody  of  the  proceedings  prior  to 
the  Kevolution ;  and  there  is  little  doubt  that  the 
prestige  which  had  long  attended  such  acts  as  the 
Boston  Tea  Party  and  the  riotous  intimidation  of 
the  stamp  collectors  in  New  Haven,  Charleston,  and 
elsewhere,  encouraged  the  opponents  of  the  whiskey 
duty  to  defy  the  law  and  to  commit  outrages  on  the 
revenue  officers.  Certain  it  is  that  many  of  the  leaders 
of  the  Republican  party  manifested  no  small  sympathy 
with  the  mobs  ;  and  gave  their  breath  to  ridiculing  the 
militia  called  out  to  vindicate  the  authority  of  the  gov- 
ernment, rather  than  to  denunciation  of  incipient  re- 
bellion. As  early  as  1792  the  President  had  found  it 
necessary  to  issue  a  proclamation,  calling  on  his  fellow- 
citizens  to  support  the  law.  But  in  1794  opposition 
rose  to  such  a  point  that  collectors  of  revenue  were 
driven  from  their  homes,  government  mails  seized,  and 
the  United  States  Marshal  fired  upon  in  the  course 
of  his  duty.  The  culminating  point  of  the  Rebellion 
was  at  Pittsburg.  We  have  already  referred  to  the 
conditions  which  rendered  the  tax  a  peculiar  hardship  to 
the  people  of  this  region  ;  but  there  was  something 
in  the  character  of  the  people  themselves  which  made 
rebellion  easy,  on  such  a  theme.  Just  prior  to  the 
outbreak  of  the  Revolution,  there  had  been  an  ex- 
traordinary immigration  of  Irish,  who  settled  in  large 
numbers  at  the  junction  of  the  Allegheny  and  Mo- 
nongahela  rivers.  Hatred  of  excise  and  skill  in  evad- 
ing duties  on  whiskey  had  been  among  the  virtues 
of  the  Irish  peasant  at  home  ;  and  among  the  promoters 
of  opposition  to  the  tax  in  western  Pennsylvania  the 
men  of  this  race  were  conspicuous.  In  August,  1794, 
an  armed  convention  met  on  Braddock^s  Field,  to  de- 
nounce the  law  and  defy  the  government.  The  secre- 
tary of  the  meeting  was  none  other  than  Albert  Gallatin, 


Washington's  second  term  125 


a  Swiss  immigrant,  afterward  Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 
Such  acts  satisfied  both  the  President  and  Governor 
Mifflin,  of  Pennsylvania,  that  the  time  for  vigorous 
measures  had  come.  Fifteen  thousand  militia  were 
called  out ;  but  were  preceded  by  commissioners  with 
offers  of  general  amnesty  on  condition  of  The  mmtia 
peaceable  submission.  It  was,  however,  caUedout. 
only  by  the  actual  presence  of  the  troops  that  quiet 
was  restored  and  the  authority  of  the  government 
vindicated.  The  enactment  of  the  whiskey  tax  was  un- 
questionably one  of  the  most  serious  political  mistakes  of 
the  Federalist  party ;  but  the  result  of  this  legislation 
which  we  have  least  to  regret  was  the  energetic  actiou 
of  the  executive  in  putting  down  resistance  to  the  law. 
The  Kepublican  leaders  might,  as  many  of  them  did, 
sneer  at  the  militia  who  marched  to  western  Pennsyl- 
vania; but  the  rioters  themselves  and  the  country  at 
large  made  no  mistake  about  the  matter ;  they  under- 
stood that,  at  last,  there  was  a  government  in  the 
United  States  which  could  not  be  defied.  The  learn- 
ing of  this  lesson  was  worth  all  it  cost. 

So  manifestly  had  the  Democratic  Societies, which 
had  been  formed  very  generally  throughout  the  Unit- 
ed States  on  the  abolition  of  the  monarchy  Democratic 
in  France,  contributed  at  once  to  foreign  in-  societies, 
science,  as  in  the  case  of  Genet,  and  to  domestic  dis- 
turbance, as  in  the  case  of  the  whiskey  insurrection, 
that  Washington,  in  his  annual  message  of  1794, 
strongly  denounced  these  organizations  as  unpatriotic 
and  dangerous.  It  must  be  confessed  that  the  Presi- 
dent's position  was  somewhat  weakened  by  the  fact  that 
he  himself  was,  and  had  long  been,  the  head  of  the  So- 
ciety of  the  Cincinnati,  an  organization  of  officers  of 
the  Revolutionary  army  which,  as  then  organized,  was 
charged  with  a  strong  aristocratic  tendency.    With  the 


126  THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


fall  of  Eobespierre,  however,  of  whose  clubs  they  were 
an  imitation,  the  Democratic  Societies  rapidly  declined, 
more  probably  from  that  cause  than  from  the  effect  of 
Washington's  deserved  denunciations. 

During  the  summer  of  1793  yellow  fever  broke  out 
with  frightful  violence  in  Philadelphia,  then  the  seat 
Yellow  fever  general  government.     For  months 

in  Phiiadei-  terror  reigned  in  the  devoted  city.  Over  four 
^^^^*  thousand  interments  took  place  from  August 

to  November,  the  first  month  of  frost.  It  is  said  that, 
at  the  time  the  panic  was  at  its  height,  seventeen  thou- 
sand citizens  were  absent  from  their  homes,  seeking  safety 
among  the  mountains  or  in  the  rural  districts.  The 
pestilence  extended  southward  to  Charleston,  and  as 
far  north  even  as  Boston  and  Newburyport ;  but  Phil- 
adelphia remained  the  greatest  sufferer.  The  same 
dread  scourge  reappeared  in  1797  and  1798,  though 
working  far  less  mischief,  probably  because  of  a  better 
knowledge  of  the  evil  and  its  remedies. 

Upon  a  report  of  Mr.  Hamilton,  the  last  of  his  Ee- 
ports,^^  so  called.  Congress  proceeded  to  make  per- 
The  funding  niancnt  provision  for  the  debt  of  the  United 

system.  gtatcs.  The  principal  feature  of  this  scheme 
was  the  establishment  of  a  sinking  fund,  consisting 
of  the  surplus  revenues,  of  the  bank-dividends  pay- 
able to  the  government,  of  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  of 
public  lands,  and  of  the  taxes  on  spirits  and  stills  until 
1801.  This  measure  may  be  regarded  as  a  creditable 
one  in  its  conception,  though  the  praise  awarded  for  it 
to  Hamilton  is  hardly  deserved,  since  it  was  largely  in 
imitation  of  Mr.  Pittas  English  system. 

In  June,  1796,  Tennessee  was  admitted  as  a  State 
The  state  of  of  the  Union,  from  territory  ceded  by  North 
Tennessee.  Carolina.  The  population  of  Tennessee  in 
1790  was  35,691  ;  in  1800,  105,602.  Judge  Jay,  having 


Washington's  second  term  127 


been  elected  Governor  of  the  State  of  New  York,  re- 
signed his  office  as  Chief -Justice.  The  Senate  having 
refused  to  confirm  *  John  Kutledge,  of  South    ^  ^ 

T  •  •       The  change 

Carolina,  whom  President  W  ashmgton  nomi-  in  the  chief- 
nated,  and  Judge  Cushing,  of  Massachusetts,  Justiceship, 
having  declined,  the  office  was  conferred  upon  Oliver 
Ellsworth,  of  Connecticut. 

It  was  said  that  apparently  not  a  member  of  the  Con- 
stitutional Convention  of  1787  adequately  appreciated 
the  tremendous  powers  with  which  the  judiciary  had 
been  invested  ;  and  it  was  intimated  that,  should  the 
courts  of  the  United  States  actually  be  permitted  to  ex- 
ercise the  jurisdiction  granted  them  by  that  instrument, 
a  really  effective  national  government  could  not  fail  to 
result,  subject  only  to  those  liabilities  to  insurrection 
or  rebellion  which  beset  all  governments,  of  whatever 
type.  The  Constitution  had  not  been  long  in  operation, 
however,  when  it  was  ascertained  that,  at  least  in  one 
instance,  the  Supreme  Court  would  not  be  permitted 
to  exercise  that  jurisdiction.  In  the  case  of  Chisholm 
vs.  the  State  of  Georgia,  the  party  defendant  re- 
fused to  plead  except  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  court. 
Georgia  declared,  through  its  legal  representatives,  that 
it  could  not  be  brought  into  the  courts  as  a  defendant ; 
and  challenged  the  construction  given  to  the  first  clause 
of  the  second  section  of  the  third  Article  of  the  Consti- 
tution by  the  law  officers  of  the  government.  The 
court,  Chief-Justice  Jay  presiding,  maintained  its  juris- 
diction ;  f  but  the  excitement  caused  by  the  case,  and  a 
general  sense  of  the  impropriety  of  thus  bringing  a 

*  Largely  on  account  of  extraordinary  and  intolerable  language  used 
by  Rutledge  in  connection  with  the  Jay  treaty. 

t  It  is  interesting  to  note  that,  in  the  debate  in  the  Virginia  Conven- 
tion over  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution,  John  Marshall,  afterward  the 
great  Chief-Justice,  declared  that,  under  Article  3,  a  State  could  not  be 
«ued  by  a  citizen  of  another  State. 


128 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION" 


State  into  court,  led  Congress,  on  December  2,  1793, 
to  propose  the  Eleventh  Amendment  of  the  Constitu- 

The  Eiev-  tion — which  was,  in  fact,  the  first  real  amend- 
ment 'of^the  ^^^^  of  that  instrument — providing  that  the 
Constitution,  judicial  powcr  of  the  United  States  should 
not  be  construed  to  extend  to  any  suit  in  law  or  equity, 
commenced  or  prosecuted  against  one  of  the  United 
States  by  citizens  of  another  State,  or  by  citizens  or  sub- 
jects of  any  foreign  State.  This  amendment,  having 
been  duly  ratified,  became  a  part  of  the  organic  law. 
It  is  to  be  said  that  this  amendment  made  no  important 
breach  in  our  constitutional  system.  It  has,  indeed, 
enabled  some  of  the  States  to  do  very  rascally  things  in 
the  way  of  repudiating  debts  or  neglecting  obligations  ; 
but  enough  remained  of  the  jurisdiction  of  the  United 
States  courts  to  enable  them  to  perform  their  great  part 
in  the  making  of  the  nation. 

We  have  seen  that  Washington  began  his  administra- 
tion, in  1789,  with  a  cabinet  comprising  some  of  the 
most  illustrious  men  of  the  republic,  yet  containing 
within  itself  elements  of  discord  and  even  of  strong  an- 
tagonisms. The  cabinet  remained  intact  during  the 
whole  of  Washington's  first  term ;  but  in  the  very  year 

Dieni  tion  sccoud  inauguration  it  began  to  go  to 

of  the  caEinet  pieccs.    Jeff crsou  had  felt  outraged,  to  the 

and  the  move-  ^  t.i        pi-i*  lii 

ment  of  par-  vcry  depths  01  his  bemg,  by  what  he  re- 
garded  as  the  corrupt  and  dangerous  finan- 
cial measures  of  Hamilton  and  by  the  general  tendency 
of  the  government  toward  consolidation  and  monarchy. 
The  course  of  the  administration,  as  between  France 
Jefferson's  England,  had  been  very  painful  and  not 
commercial  a  little  mortifying  to  him.  On  December 
report.  1793,  Mr.  Jefferson  made  a  special  report 

to  Congress  on  the  commercial  relations  of  the  United 
States  ;  and,  within  a  day  or  two  thereafter,  retired 


WASHIITGTON^S  SECOND  TERM  129 


from  the  State  Department.  His  report  was  regarded 
by  the  Federalists  as  ingeniously  designed  to  embarrass 
the  administration  he  was  leaving.  Upon  its  reception 
by  the  House  of  Eepresentatives,  Mr.  Madison  offered 
resolutions  for  carrying  out  the  principles  of  the  report. 
These  were  opposed  by  the  Federalists^  led  by  Mr. 
Smith,  of  South  Carolina,  on  the  ground  that  the  meas- 
ure was  designed  to  punish  England  and  to  favor 
France.  Mr.  Jefferson^'s  allegations  were  denounced 
as  false  and  misleading.  The  Federalists  declared  that 
our  commerce  was  as  much  favored  by  England  as  by 
France  ;  while  our  relations  with  the  former  country 
were  vastly  more  important.  Messrs.  Jefferson  and 
Madison  were  taunted  with  having  forgotten  to  be  free- 
traders in  their  eagerness  to  injure  England. 

Upon  Mr.  Jefferson^s  retirement  from  the  State  De- 
partment, Mr.  Eandolph  was  transferred  from  the  of- 
fice of  Attorney-General  to  succeed  him.  Mr.  Rand  o  i  ph's 
Kandolph^s  course  while  in  office  had  been 
marked  by  the  same  indecision  and  vacillation  which 
characterized  his  actions  regarding  the  formation  and 
ratification  of  the  Constitution.  He  had  appeared  de- 
sirous to  trim  between  the  two  parties,  and  in  con- 
sequence had  not  won  the  support  of  either.  He  was 
not  destined  to  remain  long  in  his  new  office.  In  Au- 
gust, 1795,  he  resigned,  in  consequence  of  the  publica- 
tion of  a  very  compromising  letter  from  Mr.  Fauchet, 
the  French  minister,  which  forfeited  for  him  the  con- 
fidence of  Washington.  Charges  of  corrupt  action  were 
then  and  subsequently  made  against  Mr.  Eandolph. 
The  results  of  recent  investigation  have  disproved  these 
charges,  though  they  have  not  restored  Mr.  Eandolph 
to  the  historical  rank  of  a  great  statesman.  He  was 
succeeded  in  the  State  Department  by  Timothy  Picker- 
ing, of  Pennsylvania,  formerly  of  Massachusetts. 


130 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  ]SrATlOJ>r 


In  June,  1795,  Mr.  Hamilton  retired  from  the  Treas- 
ury Department,  where  he  had  won  such  fame  as  has 
Hamilton  ^^^^^  heeu  even  approached  by  any  of  his 
ser^ceVtothe  ^^^^^^^^^^^  though  that  officc  has  been  filled 
new  govern-  by  many  men  of  remarkable  ability.  For 
'  good  or  for  ill,  according  to  one^s  political 

predilections,  it  is  admitted  by  all  that  Mr.  Hamilton 
had  done  more  to  give  form  to  the  new  government-,  to 
fill  its  veins  with  life-blood,  and  to  inspire  its  actions 
with  energy,  than  any  other  man  of  his  time.  Much  of 
what  Mr.  Hamilton  did  could,  in  the  nature  of  the  case, 
never  be  undone  ;  and  by  consequence  he  must  be  re- 
garded as  having  been  a  great  creative  force  within  the 
government.  He  was  succeeded  in  the  Treasury  by 
Oliver  Wolcott,  Jr.,  of  Connecticut,  who  had  filled  the 
office  of  Comptroller.  General  Knox  retired  from  the 
War  Department  toward  the  close  of  1794,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Colonel  Pickering,  who,  as  we  have  seen,  was 
soon  transferred  to  the  State  Department,  being  suc- 
ceeded by  James  McHenry,  of  Maryland.  William 
Bradford,  of  Pennsylvania,  who  had  succeeded  Ean- 
dolph  as  Attorney-General,  died  in  August,  1795  ;  and 
Charles  Lee,  of  Virginia,  was  appointed  in  his  place. 

At  the  close  of  Washington's  administration,  there- 
fore, the  cabinet  consisted  of  the  following  members  : 
Washington's  Timothy  Pickering,  Secretary  of  State  ;  Oli- 
last cabinet,  Wolcott,  Jr.,  Secretary  of  Treasury; 
James  McHenry,  Secretary  of  War ;  Charles  Lee,  At- 
torney-General. One  cannot  let  his  eye  fall  on  this  list 
without  being  painfully  struck  with  the  decline  which 
had  taken  place  in  so  short  a  time  in  the  dignity  and 
authority  of  the  cabinet.  Three  of  the  gentlemen 
named  were  of  good  abilities  and  character ;  but  not 
one  of  them  approached  the  rank  of  his  predecessor  ; 
nor  was  this  change  the  result  of  accident.    In  some 


Washington's  second  term 


131 


part^  it  was  undoubtedly  due  to  the  expenses  of  living 
for  a  cabinet  officer  at  Philadelphia  in  this  time,  which 
were  far  in  excess  of  the  means  of  all  but  wealthy  citi- 
zens. But  in  still  greater  part  it  was  due  to  a  lack  of 
respect  for  the  office,  arising  from  the  obloquy  and 
abuse  which  had  been  heaped  upon  Washington's  ear- 
lier advisers  ;  from  the  quarrels  and  antagonisms  which 
had  developed  among  them  ;  and  from  the  fact  that  the' 
position  of  cabinet  officer  in  the  government  had  not 
yet  been  properly  distinguished  and  emphasized  to  the 
public  mind.  Mr.  Adams  states  that  Washington  of- 
fered the  post  of  Secretary  of  State,  between  1795  and 
1796,  to  four  persons  whom  he  names,  and  to  three 
others  whom  he  does  not  recall.  He  adds  :  He  has 
not  been  able  to  find  anyone  to  accept  the  War  Office.^' 

During  the  whole  period  of  which  we  have  been  writ- 
ing, the  division  of  the  country  into  two  parties  had 
steadily  gone  forward.  Little  by  little  those  Progress  o  f 
who  had  been  doubtful  in  sentiment,  or  who  p^^^  feeling, 
had  been  disposed  to  find  something  good  in  the  prin- 
ciples of  either  party,  had  ranged  themselves  defini- 
tively upon  one  or  the  other  side  of  the  dividing  line. 
The  parties  themselves  had  come  to  recognize  their 
natural  leaders,  to  fall  into  order,  and  to  acquire  disci- 
pline. This,  of  itself,  was  not  a  thing  to  be  regretted. 
Indeed,  the  existence  of  a  formulated  opposition,  at  the 
outset  of  the  new  government,  was  essential  to  bringing 
out  the  true  theory  of  the  Constitution.  Without  two 
parties  closely  watching  and  strongly  opposing  each 
other,  things  might  have  come  to  be  lightly  done,  from 
lack  of  criticism  and  objection,  which  would  have  been 
mischievous  in  their  ultimate  results.  But  the  alto- 
gether unnecessary  and  unreasonable  animosities  which 
were  developed  by  public  measures  exerted  a  most  prej- 
udicial influence.    Party  differences  cut  deep  into  so- 


132 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


cial  life  and  personal  relationship.  Our  people  were 
politically  raw  and  unformed  ;  they  had  not  learned  to 
hold  their  beliefs  temperately  and  to  respect  the  con- 
victions of  others.  Even  political  morality  had  as  yet 
been  but  vaguely  outlined  in  the  public  thought ;  and 
things  were  done  by  men  of  good  standing  which  would 
be  universally  reprobated  at  the  present  time. 

Upon  the  conclusion  of  his  second  term  Washington 
declined  re-election^,  setting  a  precedent  which  there  is 

rr,,         ,  reason  to  believe  will   never  be  departed 

The  third    „  ^     ,   •   i  .  t 

presidential  trom.    Certainly  no  man  can  ever  again  have 

election.  it-  i  •  j  i 

such  claims  upon  his  countrymen^  or  be  so 
necessary  to  his  country,  as  was  Washington  when  he 
declined  a  third  term.  John  Adams,  of  Massachusetts, 
was  nominated  by  the  Federalists  ;  Thomas  Jefferson, 
of  Virginia,  by  the  Eepublicans.  The  latter  had 
been  the  author  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence; 
the  former,  its  great  champion  on  the  floor  of  Congress. 
They  had  long  been  associated  in  friendship  ;  but  per- 
sonal ambition  and  party  strife  had  made  deep  division 
between  them.  Many  years  afterward,  when  the  battles 
of  their  lives  had  been  fought,  they  were  again,  by  an 
accident,  to  be  brought  into  friendly  relations  ;  and,  in 
the  leisure  of  declining  years,  to  gossip  together,  in 
long,  old-fashioned  letters  (impossible  forevermore  in 
these  days  of  telegraph  and  postal  cards),  about  their 
early  achievements,  their  copimon  friends  and  foes,  and 
even  about  the  very  events  which  once  made  them  speak 
so  disparagingly  and  harshly  of  each  other. 

A  word  concerning  the  manner  in  which  nominations 
to  the  presidency  were  made.  The  National  Convention, 
made  up  of  delegates  of  the  voting  members  of  the  par- 
ty and  giving  forth  a  ^'platform of  principles  and  se- 
lecting candidates  for  the  support  of  the  people,  was 
then  unknown.    '^A  caucus,  as  it  is  called^'  (Gibbs, 


Washington's  second  term 


183 


ii.,  347)  of  the  members  of  Congress  acting  together  on 
national  issues  was  held  before  a  presidential  election ; 
and,  with  as  little  machinery  as  is  now  used  j^iethod  o  f 
for  the  nomination  of  a  sergeant-at-arms,  the  JJ^e"^i>^egi^e^f 
party  ticket  was  made  up.    It  must  not  be  and  Vice- 

President 

inferred,  however,  that,  because  the  nomi- 
nation was  simple,  the  system  was  a  desirable  one.  Un- 
doubtedly it  encouraged  congressional  intrigue,  to  a  de- 
gree not  now  experienced  ;  and  tended  toward  a  danger- 
ous confusion  of  the  parts  of  government.  This  is  the 
place,  too,  in  which  to  speak  of  the  system  first  estab- 
lished by  the  Constitution  for  the  choice  of  President 
and  Vice-President.  The  electors  chosen  by  the  several 
States  were  to  vote,  each,  for  two  persons,  without  desig- 
nating either  for  the  office  of  President  or  Vice-Presi- 
dent. The  person  receiving  in  the  aggregate  the  largest 
number  of  electoral  votes  became  President ;  the  person 
receiving  the  next  largest  number  of  votes,  whether  of 
the  same  party  or  not,  became  Vice-President.  A  more 
senseless  arrangement  could  hardly  have  been  devised. 
Should  each  one  of  the  electors  of  the  victorious  party 
vote  for  both  persons  nominated  by  his  party,  each  of 
these  would  receive  the  same  number  of  votes  ;  and 
there  would  be  nothing  to  determine  who  should  be 
President  and  who  Vice-President.  Neither  would  have 
been  elected  to  office  ;  and  the  election  would  thus  be 
thrown  into  the  House  of  Eepresentatives,  as  was  done 
in  1801.  In  order  to  avoid  such  a  result,  it  would 
be  necessary  that  one  or  more  electors  should  throw 
away  his  second  vote ;  but,  as  this  would  be  a  difficult 
matter  to  arrange,  especially  in  those  days  of  slow  com- 
munication, and  as  there  would  always  be  a  danger  of 
treachery  in  the  matter,  a  considerable  number  of  elec- 
tors might  throw  away  their  second  votes,  to  prevent  a 
tie.     In  this  case  it  might  happen  that  one  of  the  can- 


134  THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 

didates  of  the  other  party  would  be  brought  in  as  Vice- 
President.    Just  this,  as  we  shall  see,  occurred  in  1797. 

Let  us  now  return  to  the  candidates  at  the  third  presi- 
dential election.  In  addition  to  the  advantages  which 
Jefferson's  Mr.  Jeffcrson  derived  from  the  definitive  re- 
strength,  tirement  of  Washington  from  public  life, 
from  the  unpopularity  of  many  of  the  measures  of  the 
closing  administration,  and  from  the  growing  demo- 
cratic spirit  of  the  country,  he  possessed  an  immense 
source  of  power  in  the  fact  that  he  was  the  sole  possible 
candidate  of  his  party  and  its  universally  recognized 
leader.  No  man  stood  near  him  for  the  nomination  ; 
no  rival  divided  with  him  the  confidence  and  support  of 
the  Kepublicans  of  the  United  States.  On  the  other 
hand,  Mr.  Adams  was  only  one  of  three  great  leaders 
of  the  Federalist  party.  Hamilton  and  Jay  came  also 
within  the  possible  range  of  nomination.  Each  of  them 
had  hosts  of  followers,  who  held  Mr.  Adams  in  less  es- 
teem. Jay,  however,  just  at  this  time,  was  an  unde- 
sirable candidate,  on  account  of  the  British  treaty ;  and 
his  own  support  of  Adams  was  loyal  and  hearty  ;  but 
between  Adams  and  Hamilton  was  mutual  distrust, 
while  the  soaring  ambition  of  the  younger  statesman 
and  his  consciousness  of  vast  powers  made  him  unhappy 
at  seeing  another  preferred  to  himself,  mainly  on  the 
ground  of  revolutionary  services.  Adams  had  always 
been  disposed  to  charge  Hamilton  with  the  responsi- 
bility for  the  large  reduction  of  his  vote  in  1789  ;  and  in 
1796  he  fully  believed  that,  at  the  election  then  impend- 
ing, Hamilton  was  not  indisposed  to  secure  his  defeat, 
even  at  the  cost  of  bringing  in  Jefferson.  But  while  the 
Eepublicans  thus  entered  upon  the  third  presidential 
election  with  greatly  increased  force,  the  time  had  not 
as  yet  been  long  enough  completely  to  wear  away  the 
hold  which  the  Federalist  party  had,  at  the  beginning. 


Washington's  second  term 


135 


upon  the  mind  of  the  country.  It  was  to  require  four 
years  more  to  break  down  Federalist  supremacy  and  give 
the  leadership  to  the  party  which  Mr.  Jefferson  had  been 
so  assiduously  and  astutely  building  up. 

Mr.  Adams  triumphed ;  but  it  was  only  by  the  nar- 
rowest majority.  He  received  seventy-one  votes  in  the 
electoral  college;  Mr,  Jefferson,  sixty-eight.  Adams  elect- 
Even  this  hairbreadth  escape  was  due  more  to  ed  by  a  nar- 
personal  than  political  reasons.  A  single 
voice  in  Virginia  and  one  in  North  Carolina/^  writes 
Mr.  Charles  Francis  Adams,  ''^prompted  by  the  linger- 
ing memory  of  revolutionary  services,  had  turned  the 
scale.  Had  these  two  electors  consented  to  forget  how 
John  Adams  stood  up  for  American  liberty  in  the  days  of 
the  Stamp  Act  and  the  Boston  port  bill ;  how  he  urged 
on  the  cause  of  Independence  and  defended  the  Declar- 
ation upon  the  floor  of  the  Kevolutionary  Congress,  Jeffer- 
son might  have  been  elected  in  1797,  for  those  two  votes 
would  have  just  brought  him  in.  The  narrowness  of  his 
majority  could  not  have  been  pleasant  to  Mr.  Adams. 
He  jocosely  called  himself  2i  President  of  three  votes, 
but  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  he  took  the  matter  in 
his  heart  more  seriously.  It  would  even  appear  that  the 
Eepublicans  made  an  attempt,  or  at  least  put  out  feel- 
ers ^Mn  that  direction,  to  draw  Mr.  Adams,  in  his  natural 
irritation  at  the  manner  in  which  he  had  been  dealt  with, 
over  to  themselves  ;  but  if  they  really  thought  that  this 
was  possible,  they  did  know  their  man,  who  was  as  sturdy, 
sincere,  and  loyal,  as  he  was  vain,  dogmatic,  and  obstinate. 

In  the  same  connection  we  see  the  evil  consequences 
of  the  peculiar  provision  we  have  recited  regarding  the 
choice  of  Vice-President.  Thomas  Pinckney  had  been 
nominated  for  this  office  with  Adams  ;  but,  in  fact,  he 
received  fewer  votes  than  Mr.  Jefferson,  who  thus, 
though  the  Eepublican  candidate  for  the  presidency,  be- 


136  THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 

came  Vice-President  under  a  Federalist  chief,  a  result 
conducive  neither  to  his  own  dignity  and  pleasure,  nor 

Jefferson      honest  politics  and  good  government.  The 
^ecomesVice-  reason  for      cutting     Mr.  Pinckney  had 
largely  been  the  fear  of  the  Federalist  electors 
that  there  might  be  a  tie  between  him  and  Adams. 

On  retiring  from  public  office,  Washington  issued  an 
address  to  the  American  people,  of  whom  he  had  for 

Washin  twcnty-two  ycars  been  the  leader,  alike  in 
ton's  Farewell  war  and  in  peace.  This  Farewell  Message 
is  among  the  most  precious  of  the  nation^s 
many  legacies  from  its  great  men  of  thought  and  action. 
Written  simply  and  without  rhetorical  artifice,  it  is 
dignified  in  form,  earnest  in  tone,  clear  in  statement, 
effective  in  argument,  impressive  in  admonition,  power- 
ful in  appeal.  As  was  natural  on  such  an  occasion,  the 
address  deals  less  with  policies  and  with  positive  rec- 
ommendations than  with  the  dangers  to  which  the  new 
nation,  so  strangely  and  curiously  composed,  would 
surely  be  subjected  in  the  days  of  its  trial  and  experi- 
ment; less  with  precepts  than  with  warnings.  Chief 
among  its  themes  are  the  evils  of  entangling  alliances 
with  foreign  nations  and  of  sectional  animosities  and 
jealousies  at  home.  On  these  two  points  the  address 
dwells  with  a  fulness  which  reveals  how  strongly  the  ap- 
prehension of  them  had  taken  possession  of  the  great 
patriot-chief  taints  mind  and  heart.  In  the  most  solemn 
terms  he  adjures  his  fellow-citizens  to  be  Americans 
above  all  things  and  in  all  things,  cherishing  the  interests 
of  their  whole  country  with  equal  affection,  and  know- 
ing no  foes  and  no  friends,  politically,  but  the  foes 
and  friends  of  the  United  States.  Eespect  for  law,  the 
sacredness  of  national  credit,  moderation  in  party  feel- 
ing, public  and  private  virtue  are  all  made  the  subjects 
of  earnest  admonition  and  argument. 


CHAPTER  VIII 


THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  JOHN  ADAMS 

President  Adams  Retains  Washington's  Cabinet — Foreign  Affairs — 
Difficulties  with  France  Aggravated — A  Special  Mission  sent 
— Envoys  Insulted — War  Imminent — Federalist  Enthusiasm — 
Washington  appointed  Commander-in-Chief  —  Schemes  of 
Hamilton  and  Miranda — Spanish  Possessions  to  be  Seized — 
President  Adams  sends  a  New  Mission — The  French  Treaty 
— The  Spoliation  Claims — Taxation  in  this  Administration — 
Stamp  Duties  arouse  Opposition — The  Direct  Tax — Inefficiency 
of  this  Tax  in  the  United  States — Resistance  to  the  Law — 
Conviction  of  the  Rioters — Fries  Pardoned — Anger  of  the  Fed- 
eralists— What  Constitutes  Treason  ? — Navy  Department  Cre- 
ated— Alien  and  Sedition  Laws — Furious  Opposition  by  the 
Republicans— Nullification  Resolutions  of  Virginia  and  Ken- 
tucky— Responses  of  Federalist  States — Madison's  Defence — 
— Congress  Meets  in  the  New  Capital — The  First  Bankruptcy 
Law — The  Second  Census — Death  of  Washington — Split  in  the 
Cabinet — Secretaries  Intrigue  against  the  President — Hamil- 
ton's Opposition  to  Adams — His  Pamphlet — The  Fourth  Presi- 
dential Election— Adams  Defeated  —  Jefferson  and  Burr  re- 
ceive an  Equal  Vote — Contest  in  the  House —  Federalists  take 
up  Burr — Jefferson  finally  chosen  President — Causes  of  the 
Defeat  of  the  Federalists — Marshall  becomes  Chief -Justice. 

Upon  his  inaugnration^  March  4,  1797^  Mr.  Adams 
retained  in  office  the  cabinet  of  Washington.  This, 
as  we  shall  see,  became  the  cause  of  much  cabinet 
trouble  to  him.    The  Senate  was  still  strong- 
ly Federalist ;  but  many  of  its  members  were  not  well 
disposed  toward  the  President. 

The  importance  of  foreign  affairs  under  this  adminis- 
tration seems  to  require  that  we  should  deal  first  with 


138  THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


them.  It  has  been  said  that  France  deemed  itself  in- 
jured by  the  British  treaty  ;  and  that  General  Pinckney 
was  notified  that  the  French  government  would  receive 
no  minister  from  the  United  States  until  reparation 
should  be  made.  Soon  news  arrived  that  Pinckney  had 
been  ordered  out  of  France.  French  cruisers  were 
already  seizing  our  ships^  under  a  decree  of  their  govern- 
ment authorizing  the  capture  of  neutral  vessels  having 
on  board  any  of  the  productions  of  Great  Britain  or  of 
any  of  her  possessions.  War  seemed  *  imminent ;  and 
Congress  was  convened  for  a  special  session.  It  met 
^       .^^    with  an  administration  maiority  in  both 

War    with  t     i  •  •  • 

France  immi-  branches.  In  his  opening  message^  Presi- 
dent Adams  used  language  so  strong  that  it 
was  resented  by  the  French  Directory  as  an  additional 
grievance.  Having  effected  its  organization^  Congress 
proceeded  to  make  provision  for  defence. 

Mr.  Adams,  however,  was  resolved  to  make  one  more 
effort  to  secure  a  peaceful  settlement ;  and,  with  this 
The  mission  vicw,  nominated  to  the  Senate  as  envoys 
to  France.  France,  Charles  C.  Pinckney,  Elbridge 
Gerry,  and  John  Marshall — Gerry  being  a  Republican 
but  an  intimate  personal  friend  of  Adams.  Time  would 
fail  to  describe  the  ludicrous  and  shameful  incidents  of 
that  embassy.  Suffice  it  to  say  that,  the  French  Direc- 
tory being  composed  of  low  and  irresponsible  persons, 
the  negotiations  soon  degenerated  into  an  attempt  to 
fleece  the  American  envoys,  apparently  for  the  benefit 
of  covetous  individuals  in  the  Directory.  After  our 
representatives  had  been  for  some  time  kept  waiting, 
certain    strikers    (in  the  phrase  of  modern  municipal 

*  Whether,  in  the  result,  France,  engaged,  as  she  was,  in  a  deadly 
struggle,  would  have  carried  matters  so  far  with  us,  may  now  be  doubted ; 
but  that  was  the  way  in  which  it  appeared  to  the  statesmen  and  people 
of  the  time. 


THE  ADMINISTKATION  OF  JOHN  ADAMS  139 

politics)^  known  in  our  diplomatic  records  as  Messrs. 
X.,  Y.,  and  Z.,  made  their  appearance  and  offered  to  se- 
cure an  audience  and  promote  the  objects  of  the  em- 
bassj;,  upon  the  condition  of  ample  payments.  At  last, 
after  very  humiliating  rebuffs,  the  Directory  refusing  to 
give  an  audience  except  through  Messrs.  X.,  Y.,  and  Z., 
or  to  communicate  officially  in  writing,  Messrs.  Pinck- 
ney  and  Marshall  left  Paris,  the  former  going  to  the 
south  of  Prance  for  his  daughter's  health,  the  latter  re- 
turning home.  Gerry  still  remained  in  Paris.  For  this 
he  was  at  the  time  severely  blamed.  On  June  21,  1798, 
President  Adams  transmitted  to  Congress  a  letter  from 
Gerry,  which  enclosed  correspondence  with  Talleyrand, 
the  French  minister.  In  his  letter  of  transmittal  the 
President  said,  ^'^I  will  never  send  another  minister 
to  France  without  assurance  that  he  will  be  received, 
respected,  and  honored  as  the  representative  of  a  great, 
free,  powerful,  and  independent  nation.^^  In  his  message 
upon  the  meeting  of  Congress,  in  December,  1798,  he 
further  said,  To  send  another  minister  without  more 
determinate  assurances  that  he  would  be  received, 
would  be  an  act  of  humiliation  to  which  the  United 
States  ought  not  to  submit.  It  must,  therefore,  be  left 
with  France  (if  she  is,  indeed,  desirous  of  accommoda- 
tion) to  take  the  requisite  steps. ''^  To  these  declara- 
tions the  country  responded  heartily. 

It  was  the  failure,  as  charged  by  his  opponents,  to 
duly  observe  this  laudable  resolution,  which  brought 
Mr.  Adamses  griefs  upon  him  and  went  far  to  wreck  the 
Federalist  party  forever.  Meanwhile  the  armament  of 
the  country  went  forward.  The  publication  of  the  cor- 
respondence had  caused  a  great  outburst  of  popular  in- 
dignation, and  had  for  the  time  immensely  strengthened 
the  administration.  At  the  South,  particularly,  there 
were  large  accessions  to  the  Federalist  party.    Thi^  was 


140 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


the  period  of  the  Black  Cockades  and  the  composition 
of  "  Hail,  Columbia  The  land  forces  were  increased. 
Preparations  ships  of  War  wcre  built,  and  the  defence  of 
for  war.  ports  and  harbors  provided  for.  Vessels  of 
the  United  States  were  prohibited  from  going  to  the  do- 
mains of  France,  or  being  employed  in  trade  with  or  for 
persons  residing  therein,  upon  penalty  of  forfeiture  of 
vessel  and  cargo.  French  vessels  were  not  allowed  to 
enter  or  to  remain  in  the  United  States  without  pass- 
ports, except  in  cases  of  distress.  AVar  being  con- 
sidered inevitable,  Washington  was  solicited  to  take 
command  of  the  army,  and  with  much  reluctance  ac- 
cepted the  appointment  of  Lieutenant-General,  with 
Hamilton  as  Inspector-General  and  second  in  rank. 
The  last  fact  constituted  another  of  President  Adamses 
grievances  against  his  distinguished  rival.  He  alleged 
that  Washington  had  been  induced  by  an  intrigue  to 
demand  Hamilton's  appointment  and  his  promotion  over 
the  gallant  revolutionary  veteran,  Knox,  who,  in  con- 
sequence of  that  indignity,  declined  his  own  appoint- 
ment as  Major-General.  The  ultimate  object  of  the 
intrigue  was  supposed  to  be  that,  in  Washington's  in- 
firmity and  advanced  age,  Hamilton  would  take  com- 
mand of  the  armies  in  the  field,  and  thus  have  an  op- 
portunity to  prove  himself  as  great  in  war  as  he 
had  shown  himself  in  finance.*  The  President  could, 
of  course,  refuse  no  demand  of  Washington  under  the 
circumstances  ;  but  he  complied  only  with  the  deepest 
resentment  against  those  whom  he  believed  to  have  pro- 
moted this  result. 

It  would  at  first  seem  that  a  war  with  France  must 
have  been  a  naval  war  mainly.    But  the  plans  of  the 

^  Military  glory  appealed  strongly  to  a  sweeping  intellect  and  power- 
ful nature  like  Hamilton's  ;  and  we  may  readily  believe  that  he  dreamed 
of  extensive  conquests  and  great  deeds  of  arms." — Lodge's  Hamilton. 


THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  JOHN  ADAMS  141 


leading  spirits  among  the  fighting  Federalists  were  more 
far-reaching.  It  was  upon  the  possessions  of  Spain, 
along  our  southern  border,  that  their  eager  ^^^^^  ^  ^ 
eyes  were  fixed.  Spain,  to  be  sure,  was  at  signs  of  t  h  e 
peace  with  us,  but  that  did  not  greatly  ^^^p^^^^* 
matter ;  she  was  an  ally  of  France  ;  and  it  would  be 
easy  to  bring  at  once  to  a  point  the  long-standing  dis- 
putes we  had  with  her  regarding  the  Florida  boundary, 
the  right  of  deposit  at  New  Orleans,  and  the  naviga- 
tion of  the  Mississippi.  1  But  not  even  such  extensive 
conquests  could  satisfy  the  ambition  of  those  who  were 
now  urging  on  the  war  with  France.  The  South 
American  provinces  were  believed  to  be  an  easy  prize. 
A  restless  adventurer,  of  the  true  Latin  type,  Francisco 
de  Miranda  by  name,  had  long  cherished  the  project  of 
drawing  England  and  the  United  States  into  an  invasion 
of  that  continent,  in  which  case,  it  was  assumed,  the 
Spanish  dominion  there  would  speedily  fall  to  pieces. 
The  thought  was  one  well  suited  to  fire  Hamilton's 
mind  ;  and  his  soaring  plans  soon  came  to  embrace  this 
as  at  least  among  the  possibilities  of  the  situation.  He 
entered  into  confidential  correspondence  with  Miranda  ; 
and  his  agents  in  Mr.  Adams's  cabinet  became  all  agog 
with  the  notion.  The  United  States  and  Great  Britain 
were  not  to  be  allies  exactly  in  this  matter.  But  there 
was  to  be  co-operation''  between  them.  The  latter 
country  was  to  loan  the  ships  to  convey  the  expedi- 
tion, and  to  keep  open  the  communications  by  sea  ; 
the  former  was  to  furnish  all  the  land  force  required — 
this  last,  in  order  that  England  might  not  be  in  a  po- 
sition to  keep  too  large  a  share  of  whatever  might  be 
gained.  Such  was  the  precious  scheme  in  which  the 
war-federalists  proposed  to  throw  to  the  winds  that 
neutrality  which  Washington  had  so  highly  valued,  and 
to  embark  the  new  nation  in  a  career  of  glory  and  con- 


142 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATIOJS^ 


quest.  All  of  this,  however,  had  not  appeared  upon  the 
surface.  Ostensibly  the  object  of  the  government  was 
to  resent  and  resist  the  encroachments  of  France. 

But  a  very  remarkable  change  was  soon  to  take  place. 
Though  no  declaration  of  war  had  been  made,  engage- 
ments had  occurred  at  sea  and  many  captures  made  of 
American  merchantmen,  when  France  unexpectedly  in- 
timated, in  a  very  roundabout  and  hardly  decent  man- 
ner, a  willingness  again  to  receive  envoys  from  the  Unit- 
ed States.  It  was  what  the  Federalists,  eager  for  war, 
regarded  as  the  President's  undue  haste  in  the  matter, 
and  his  choice  of  envoys  especially  acceptable  to  France, 
which,  as  we  shall  see,  broke  up  both  his  cabinet  and 
the  party  which  had  elected  him.  We  have  now,  how- 
ever, only  to  do  with  the  negotiations  thus  reopened. 
In  February,  1799,  President  Adams  nominated  Mr. 
Murray  as  envoy  to  France  ;  and  subsequently  joined 


Bion  to  France.  and  William  R.  Davie,  of  North  Caro- 

lina. Before,  however,  the  embassy  could  reach  Paris, 
another  revolution  had  taken  place  ;  and  a  new  Direc- 
tory had  obtained  control.  After  delays,  vexatious 
enough  anyway,  and  certainly  not  calculated  to  remove 
the  discredit  attaching  to  previous  negotiations,  the 
envoys  succeeded  in  framing  a  treaty,  September  30, 
1800,  of  which  the  following  were  the  principal  stipula- 
tions : 

The  binding  force  of  the  old  treaties  and  the  mutual 
claims  for  indemnities  were  reserved  for  future  negotia- 
tions. 

All  public  ships  and  all  property  captured  by  either 
party  and  not  yet  condemned  were  to  be  restored. 

All  government  and  individual  debts  due  were  to  be 
paid. 

The  vessels  of  either  party  were  to  enjoy,  in  the  portg 


,ig.  with  him  in  the  mission 


THE  ADMINTSTRATIOK  OF  JOHN  ADAMS  143 

of  the  other,  equal  privileges  with  those  of  the  most 
favored  nation. 

The  rule  of  the  old  treaty,  that  free  ships  should  make 
free  goods,  was  retained,  except  as  to  articles  properly 
contraband  of  war. 

Provision  was  also  made  for  the  security  of  American 
commerce  in  the  future. 

On  being  laid  before  the  Senate,  in  December,  op- 
position was  made  by  Federalist  Senators  who  were  in- 
imical to  the  President,  because  the  payment  rj^e  French 
of  indemnities  and  the  renunciation  of  the 
old  treaties  were  not  provided  for.  The  result  was  the 
adoption  of  an  article  limiting  the  term  of  the  treaty  to 
eight  years,  as  a  substitute  for  the  article  which  referred 
to  indemnities  and  the  former  treaties.  When  the 
amended  treaty  came  to  be  submitted  to  Bonaparte, 
then  ruling  France,  he  added  a  proviso  that  the  ex- 
punging of  the  article  relating  to  indemnities,  etc., 
should  be  considered  as  a  relinquishment  of  all  claims 
to  indemnity.  In  this  form  the  treaty  was  ratified  by 
our  government ;  and  thus  France  obtained  a  new 
treaty  without  indemnities.  Herein  was  the  origin  of 
one  of  the  most  vexed  questions  of  our  history,  the 
J'rench  Spoliation  Claims,  which  was  destined  to  re- 
cur, at  intervals,  through  a  period  of  ninety  years. 

Such  was  the  famous  French  treaty,  which  was  to  the 
administration  of  Adams,  in  large  measure,  what  the 
British  treaty  had  been  to  the  administration  of  Wash- 
ington. Of  its  effects  upon  the  fortunes  of  Adams  and 
the  fate  of  the  Federalist  party,  we  shall  speak  here- 
after. With  other  countries  our  relations  were  gener- 
ally pacific  ;  and  we  were  making  progress  q^j^^j.  foreign 
toward  a  good  international  position.  A  relations, 
mission  to  Prussia  was  created  in  1797  ;  and  John 
Quincy  Adams,  the  able  and  accomplished  son  of  the 


144  THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATIOK 


President^  afterward  himself  the  sixth  President  of  the 
United  States^  was  with  general  approbation  transferred 
to  this  post  from  The  Hagne^  where  he  had  been  minis- 
ter. Near  the  close  of  the  administration  an  appropri- 
ation was  made  for  the  payment  of  debts  due  to  British 
subjects  from  American  citizens^  which  had  remained 
unpaid,  in  defiance  of  treaty  obligations,  by  reason  of 
State  laws  obstructing  or  denying  payment. 

The  imminence  of  war  with  France  created  fiscal 
necessities  which  render  important  the  history  of  taxa- 
tion in  this  administration.  To  provide  necessary  funds 
for  national  defence,  an  act  was  passed  at  the  special 
session,  laying  duties  on  stamped  vellum,  parchment, 
and  paper.  These  '''Stamp  Duties were  graded  ac- 
cording to  the  purposes  for  which  the  paper 

stamp  duties.  °  ,  ,  t      -r-.  i 

was  used  or  to  be  used.  For  example,  a 
piece  on  which  a  certificate  of  naturalization  was  to 
be  written  or  printed,  was  taxed  five  dollars ;  a  license 
to  practice  law,  ten  dollars  ;  a  paper  containing  the  seal 
of  the  United  States,  four  dollars  ;  receipts,  notes,  and 
other  ordinary  business  instruments,  from  twenty-five 
cents  to  one  dollar,  according  to  the  amounts  for  which 
they  were  given.  Insurance  policies,  inventories,  and 
protests  were  all  liable  to  duty.  This  act  proved  very 
obnoxious,  its  title  and  its  provisions  unpleasantly  re- 
calling the  impositions  of  Great  Britain,  against  which 
the  colonies  had  made  war.  So  far  is  the  human  mind 
subject  to  prejudice  !  The  Stamp  Act  of  George  III. 
had  been  resisted,  not  because  it  was  a  bad  form  of  tax, 
but  because  the  patriots  denied  the  right  of  George  III. 
to  levy  any  kind  of  tax  upon  them.  If  money  is  to  be 
raised,  stamp  duties  are  a  very  cheap  and  effective  mode 
of  doing  it.  But  men  are  largely  the  creatures  of  names, 
appearances,  and  traditions ;  and  the  Americans  of 
Adamses  administration  resented  stamp  duties  enacted 


THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  JOHN  ADAMS  145 


by  a  Congress  of  their  own  choosing,  just  because  their 
fathers  had  in  1765  opposed  stamp  duties  enacted  by 
the  British  Parliament.  It  would  have  been  as  reason- 
able to  oppose  the  issue  of  stamps  for  postage.  The 
President  signed  the  stamp-duties  bill  with  reluctance, 
not  from  any  objection  to  this  form  of  tax,  but  on  ac- 
count of  certain  provisions  of  the  bill  which  he  regarded 
as  intended  to  make  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  his 
rival  in  influence  and  authority.  In  the  original  organ- 
ization of  that  department  a  remarkable  variation  had 
been  introduced,  by  which  the  Secretary  was  to  report 
directly  to  Congress,  instead  of  to  the  President  as  in 
the  case  of  other  departments.  The  Stamp-Duties  Act 
further  magnified  the  authority  of  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  with  the  purpose,  as  Mr.  Adams  conceived,  of 
diminishing  the  proper  influence  of  the  President. 

The  proceeds  of  the  stamp  duties  not  proving  suffi- 
cient, an  act  was  passed  at  the  regular  session,  1797-98, 
^r  laying  a  direct  _  . tax  of  $3,000,000  on  The  direct  tax 

enactment  of  ofi^^s. 
this  law,  and,  still  more,  the  experiences  of  the  Treasury 
in  collecting  the  tax,  brought  out  strikingly  one  of  the 
principal  defects  of  our  revenue  system.  We  have  al- 
ready seen,  in  reciting  the  inhibitions  of  the  Constitu- 
tion, that  the  United  States  can  lay  no  duties  on  ex- 
porte  ;  so  that  here  one  large  source  of  possible  revenue 
isstruck  off  at  a  blow.  The  Supreme  Court  having  de- 
cided that  income-taxes  are  not  direct  taxes,  within  the 
meaning  of  the  Constitution,  this  source  of  revenue  is 
left  to  the  general  government,  though  it  is  difficult  for 
the  lay  mind  to  apprehend  the  reason  for  the  decision 
referred  to.  The  provisions  of  the  Constitution  regard- 
ing direct  taxes,  again,  are  such  that  it  might  just  about 
as  well  have  been  declared  that  such  taxes  should  not  be 
imposed  at  all.  The  difficulty  in  this  case  is  that  Con- 
10 


146 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


gress  is  permitted  to  levy  direct  taxes  only  in  propor- 
tion to  the  population  of  the  several  kStates.  But  since, 
in  a  country  growing  and  extending  itself  as  ours  has 
done  during  the  past  hundred  years,  some  States,  viz., 
those  newly  or  sparsely  settled,  will  always  possess  very 
little  accumulated  wealth  and  have  very  little  ready 
money,  the  condition  referred  to  practically  destroys 
the  value  of  a  direct  tax.  If  the  amount  of  tax  were  to 
be  made  large  enough  really  to  bring  out  the  resources 
of  the  older  and  richer  States,  the  newer  and  poorer 
States  could  not  pay  their  share.  If,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  amount  is  kept  so  low  as  to  be  within  the 
means  of  the  frontier  States,  the  proceeds  for  the  whole 
country  will  be  insignificant.  This  is  the  dilemma 
which  has  always  confronted  Congress  in  the  enactment 
of  a  direct  tax.  Three  times  has  the  general  govern- 
ment undertaken  to  levy  such  a  tax  ;  but  in  each  case 
the  amount  raised  was  small  in  proportion  to  receipts 
from  other  sources.  In  each  case  the  collection  of  the 
tax  excited  bitter  opposition.  In  each  case  large  por- 
tions of  the  tax  were  left  uncollected,  after  the  lapse  of 
years.  It  would  not  be  a  very  hazardous  prediction 
that  the  United  States  government  will  never  again  re- 
sort to  this  mode  of  raising  revenue. 

Let  us  now  recur  to  tlie  direct  tax  of  1798.  The 
amount,  $2,000,000,  was  apportioned  among  the  States, 
beginning  with  Virginia,  at  $345,489,  and  going  down 
to  Tennessee,  the  youngest  State,  at  $18,806.  Time 
will  not  serve  to  give  the  details  of  this  tax.  A  year 
later,  open  resistance  was  made  to  the  law  in  Pennsyl- 
Resistance  to  vania,  where  the  measurement  of  houses  was 
the  direct  tax.  violently  opposcd.  A  number  of  the  rioters 
were  arrested,  but  were  rescued  by  a  party  of  armed 
horsemen  under  a  man  named  Fries.  Thereupon  the 
President  issued  a  proclamation  and  made  requisition 


THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  JOHN  ADAMS  147 


npon  the  Governor  of  Pennsylvania  for  a  military  force. 
Fries  was  tried  and  convicted  of  treason.  Others  were 
convicted  of  misdemeanor.  All  were  pardoned,  to  the 
great  discontent  of  the  Federalists,  who  demanded  that 
an  example  should  be  made.  Some  of  the  cabinet  were  ve- 
hement in  insisting  upon  the  execution  of  the  sentence 
against  Fries,  and  deeply  resented  the  President's  course. 

A  case  like  that  of  Fries  brings  up  the  question.  What 
is  fairly  to  be  considered  treason  in  our  country  ?  The 
Constitution  says  :  Treason  against  the  what  coneti- 
United  States  shall  consist  only  in  levying  tutes treason? 
war  against  them  or  in  adhering  to  their  enemies,  giv- 
ing them  aid  and  comfort.''^  Are  riotous  acts,  in  a  state 
otherwise  one  of  peace,  aimed  only  at  a  particular  law 
or  done  in  resistance  to  particular  acts  of  executive 
power,  and  not  seeking  the  destruction  of  the  govern- 
ment or  the  dismemberment  of  its  territory,  rightly  to 
be  considered  treason,  under  the  definition  of  the  Con- 
stitution ?  Such  a  construction  seems  to  be  without 
reason.  Yet  we  have  a  series  of  judicial  decisions,  by 
which  acts  like  that  of  Fries,  or  even  less  outrageous, 
have  been  declared  treasonable.  The  party  in  power  has 
always  favored  the  straining  of  the  law  ;  and  the  inge- 
nuity of  judges  has  been  heavily  taxed  to  make  out  a 
case.  During  the  times  of  anti-slavery  excitement,  the 
doctrine  of  Constructive  Treason  was  invented.  It 
would  certainly  seem  that  penalties  upon  riotous  re- 
sistance to  the  law,  coupled  with  full  accountability 
for  any  deaths  occurring  in  consequence  of  such  acts, 
could  be  made  sufficiently  severe  to  vindicate  the  au- 
thority of  government,  without  forcing  the  definition  of 
treason  so  wisely  incorporated  in  the  Constitution. 

The  preparations  for  the  anticipated  contest  with 
France  led  to  the  establishment  of  the  Navy  Department. 
During  the  Revolution,  Washington  had  been  command- 


148  THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATIOIST 


er-in-chief  of  both  services  ;  and  the  officers  of  our  war- 
vessels  had  been  commissioned  as  officers  in  the  United 
States  Army.    The  division  of  the  two  ser- 

The  Navy,  ^j^^g — army  and  the  navy — between  in- 
dependent departments,  is  according  to  the  example  of 
most  nations  ;  but  there  are  not  a  few  reasons  for  doubt- 
ing its  expediency.  Benjamin  Stoddert,  of  Maryland, 
was  appointed  Secretary  of  the  Toward  the  close 

of  the  second  session  of  the  Sixth  Congress  provision 
was  made  for  a  naval  peace  establishmjent.  Apprehen- 
sions of  a  war  with  France  having  subsided,  the  Presi- 
dent was  authorized  to  sell  all  vessels  except  thirteen. 
With  President  Adams  a  navy  had  always  been,  as  he 
himself  expresses  it,  a  hobby-horse.  Jeiferson  strenu- 
ously opposed  the  formation  of  a  navy.  We  shall  later 
see  how,  in  his  own  administration,  he  undertook  to 
deal  with  the  problem  of  protecting  our  coasts  against 
the  fleets  of  Great  Britain. 

Party  spirit  had  now  proceeded  to  the  most  extrava- 
gant abuse  and  vituperation.  Ferocious  denunciations  of 
the  government  were  heard  on  every  side.  Charges  and 
challenges  were  hurled  across  the  political  arena  with  a 
fury  which  exceeded  the  bounds  of  sanity.  The  inteia- 
perance  and  extravagance  of  controversy  were  greatly 
enhanced  by  a  few  imported  foreign  editors  and  pam- 
phleteers— Duane,  Collot,  William  Cobbett,  and  others — 
who  seemed  to  find  the  air  of  this  western  continent 
peculiarly  stimulating.  The  revolutionary  madness  of 
France,  now  held  firmly  in  check  at  home  by  the  mas- 
terful grasp  of  Napoleon,  appeared  to  have  overflowed 
into  England  and  the  United  States,  to  try  the  utmost 
that  could  be  done  to  defy  law,  order,  and  decency.  In- 
stead of  looking  at  these  ebullitions  of  democratic  frenzy 
as  a  mere  passing  stage  of  political  development,  the 
conservative  element  of  both  the  Anglo-Saxon  countries 


THE  ADMINISTKATIOlSr  OF  JOHN  ADAMS  119 


saw  in  them  the  beginning  of  anarchy,  and  proceeded 
to  deal  with  them  in  the  spirit  of  repression.  The  Fed- 
eralists of  the  United  States  imitated  the  Repressive  leg- 
methods  of  the  Tories  of  Great  Britain,  and,  isiation. 
by  their  ill-advised  efforts  to  gag  the  foul  month  of  par- 
tisan vituperation,  prepared  the  way  for  the  destruction 
of  their  own  party.  By  no  instigation  of  the  President, 
Congress,  in  1798,  passed  two  laws,  known  as  the  Alien 
and  Sedition  Acts,  to  deal  with  these  abuses. 

The  Alien  Act  *  was  to  continue  in  force  two  years. 
It  authorized  the  President  to  order  all  such  aliens  as 
he  should  deem  dangerous  to  the  peace  and  Tj^g 
safety  of  the  United  States,  or  should  have 
reasonable  grounds  to  suspect  were  concerned  in  any 
treasonable  or  secret  machinations  against  the  govern- 
ment, to  depart  out  of  the  country  within  a  given  time. 
Any  alien,  so  ordered  to  depart,  who  should  be  found 
at  large  after  the  time  limited,  and  not  having  obtained 
a  license  to  reside  in  the  country,  or  having  obtained 
such  a  license  had  not  conformed  thereto,  was  liable  to 
imprisonment  not  exceeding  three  years. 

The  Sedition  Law  was  to  expire  in  1801.  It  pro- 
vided for  the  punishment,  by  fine  and  imprisonment, 
of  persons  convicted  of  combining  or  con-  r^jg  sedition 
spiring  together  to  oppose  any  measures  of 
the  government  directed  by  proper  authority,  or  impede 
the  operation  of  any  law  of  the  United  States,  or  to  in- 
timidate or  to  prevent  any  officer  under  the  government 
from  performing  his  duty  ;  and  secondly,  for  the  pun- 
ishment, by  fine  or  imprisonment,  of  any  person  who 

*  Another  Alien  Act,  passed  at  about  the  same  time,  related  to  * '  alien 
enemies,"  that  is,  citizens  of  countries  with  which  the  United  States 
might  be  at  war.  This  act  is  still  in  force.  Its  provisions  are  unex- 
ceptionable. It  permits  the  President  in  time  of  war  or  invasion,  after 
suitable  proclamation,  to  restrain  or  remove  all  natives,  citizens,  denizens, 
or  subjects  of  governments  at  war  with  the  United  States. 


150 


THE  MAKIKG  OF  THE  NATION 


should  write,  print,  utter,  or  publish,  or  aid  therein,  any 
false,  scandalous,  or  malicious  writing  against  the  gov- 
ernment. Congress,  or  President  of  the  United  States, 
with  intent  to  defame  them,  or  to  bring  them  into  disre- 
pute, or  to  stir  up  sedition,  or  to  excite  unlawful  com- 
binations for  opposing  or  resisting  laws  of  the  United 
States,  or  any  act  of  the  President  done  in  accordance 
with  those  laws.  Now,  all  these  offences  were  already 
punishable  at  common  law,  in  the  State  courts.  Where- 
in, then,  consisted  the  obnoxious  character  of  this  meas- 
ure ?  We  answer,  the  statutory  enactment  of  a  com- 
mon-law principle  emphasizes  it,  renews  it,  and  gives 
vigor  to  the  enforcement  of  what  may  perhaps  have  been 
for  an  indefinite  period  practically  obsolete.  In  this 
case  the  Sedition  Law  was  understood  and  accepted  by 
the  opposition  as  showing  the  determination  of  the  party 
in  power  to  break  down  the  free  discussion  of  its  meas- 
ures and  to  provide  new  federal  agencies  apt  and  efficient 
to  that  end.  AVhile  we  admit  that,  so  far  as  the  offen- 
ders themselves  were  concerned,  nothing  would  have  been 
too  bad,  considering  the  foulness  of  the  abuse  in  which 
they  indulged,  we  must  assert  that  repressive  measures  of 
such  a  character  are  unworthy  of  the  statesmen  of  a  free 
government.  If  political  blackguardism  will  not  cure 
itself,  it  will  never  be  cured  by  fines  and  imprisonment. 
As  Mr.  Jefferson  well  remarked  in  his  inaugural  address, 
nothing  is  more  impotent  in  public  affairs  than  libel. 

The  blunder  of  the  Federalists  in  enacting  the  Sedi- 
tion Law  was  not  an  accidental  one.    On  the  contrary. 
The  blunder  thoroughly  characteristic.     It  sprang 

of  theFeder-  out  of  a  distrust  of  the  masses  ;  a  belief  that 
*  ^  ^*      the  people  must  always  be  led  or  repressed  ; 
a  reliance  on  powers,  estates,  and  vested  interests  within 
the  commonwealth  ;  a  readiness  to  use  force — all  of 
which  were  of  the  very  essence  of  the  aristocratic  poli* 


THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  JOHN  ADAMS  151 

tics  of  the  last  quarter  of  the  eighteenth  century.  It 
should  be  said,  however,  that,  as  President  Adams  had 
taken  no  part  in  making  this  law,  beyond  affixing  his 
signature  to  the  bill  after  it  had  passed  both  branches 
of  Congress,  so  he  showed  little  interest  in  having  the 
offenders  under  it  prosecuted.  The  number  of  cases 
brought  to  trial  was  insignificant,  only  about  six  in  all. 

The  Alien  and  Sedition  Laws  were  generally  approved 
throughout  the  Federalist  districts ;  but  aroused  the 
most  intense  opposition  on  the  part  of  the  Kepublicans, 
which  culminated  in  the  famous  Nullification  Eeso- 
lutions  of  Virginia  and  Kentucky.  The  draft  of  the 
^Kentu^ky  r^es^^  which  were  presented  in  the  leg- 
islature of  that  State  by  Mr.  Nicholas,  is  known  to 
have  been  made  by  Mr.  Jefferson.  The  Virginia  reso- 
lutions were  drawn  by  Madison,  then  out  of  office  and 
living  at  home.  Mr.  Madison  had  Mr.  Jefferson's  draft 
of  the  Kentucky  resolutions  before  him  ;  but,  with 
his  more  conservative  temperament,  modified  consider- 
ably the  declaration  of  nullification  which  it  contained. 
Both  sets  of  resolutions  occupied  themselves  at  length 
with  the  special  cases  of  the  Alien  and  Sedition  Laws  ; 
but  their  importance  in  our  constitutional  history  is 
chiefly  due  to  the  doctrine  enunciated  in  each,  of  the 
right,  on  the  part  of  any  State,  to  declare  and  make  void 
within  its  own  limits  any  law  of  Congress  which  it  may 
deem  unconstitutional.  The  language  of  the  Virginia 
resolutions  on  this  subject  is  as  follows  : 

That,  in  case  of  a  deliberate,  palpable,  and  danger- 
ous exercise  of  other  powers,  not  granted  by  the  said 
compact  the  Constitution],  the  States,  who  are 

parties  thereto,  have  the  right,  and  are  in  duty  bound, 
to  interpose,  for  arresting  the  progress  of  the  evil  and 
for  maintaining,  within  their  respective  limits,  the  au- 
thorities, rights,  and  liberties  appertaining  to  them.'' 


152  THE  3IAKING  OF  TH^]  NATION 


The  Kentucky  legislature,  with  less  reservation,  de* 
Glared  :  "  That,  whensoever  the  general  government  as- 
sumes undelegated  powers,  its  acts  are  unauthoritative, 
void,  and  of  no  force  .  .  .  that  this  government 
created  by  this  compact  [i.  e.,  the  Constitution],  was 
not  made  the  exclusive  or  final  judge  of  the  extent  of 
the  powers  delegated  to  itself,  since  that  would  have 
made  its  discretion,  and  not  the  Constitution,  the  meas- 
ure of  its  powers  ;  but  that,  as  in  all  other  cases  of  com- 
pact among  parties  having  no  common  judge,  each  party 
has  an  equal  right  to  judge  for  itself,  as  well  of  infrac- 
tions *  as  of  the  mode  and  measure  of  redress/^ 

It  must  have  been  a  great  stress  of  party  passion 
which  could  bring  two  statesmen  who  had  done  so  much 
toward  the  foundation  of  the  republic  to  put  forward 
views  of  the  Constitution  which,  if  accepted  and  made 
good,  would  have  rendered  a  real  nation  forever  impos- 
sible. Mr.  Madison,  indeed,  afterward  claimed  that 
there  was  nothing  like  nullification  in  these  resolutions  ; 
and  spent  no  little  time,  during  his  declining  years,  in 
arguing  against  the  construction  once  universally  given 
to  them.  But  the  American  people,  from  Maine  to 
Georgia,  were  not  likely  to  be  mistaken  in  such  a  case  ; 
and  no  student  of  constitutional  history  can  fail  to  see 
in  the  resolutions  of  1798-99  not  only  the  spirit  but  the 
full-grown  body  of  the  demon,  nullification. 

The  Virginia  resolutions  were  sent,  by  the  legisla- 
ture which  had  passed  them,  to  the  other  States,  but  met 
Nuiiifica-  ^  generally  cold  reception,  while  certain  of 
edbytheother  ^^c  State  legislatures  took  the  occasion  to 
states.  denounce  their  doctrines  in  most  vigorous 

terms.  The  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of 
Delaware  contented  themselves  with  declaring:  ^^That 
they  consider  the  resolutions  from  the  State  of  Virginia 

*  That  is,  as  to  the  fact  of  an  infraction  of  the  Congtitution. 


THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  JOHN  ADAMS  153 

as  a  very  unjustifiable  interference  with  the  general 
government  and  constituted  authorities  of  the  United 
States,  and  of  dangerous  tendency,  and,  therefore,  not 
fit  subject  for  the  further  consideration  of  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly/^  Khode  Island,  however,  condescended 
to  argue  the  question  raised  in  the  nullification  resolu- 
tions, and  in  so  doing  hit  the  nail  squarely  on  the  head 
by  declaring:  That,  in  the  opinion  of  this  Legisla- 
ture, the  second  section  of  the  third  article  of  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  United  States,  in  these  words,  to  wit, 
'  the  judicial  power  shall  extend  to  all  cases  arising  un- 
der the  laws  of  the  United  States,^  vests  in  the  Federal 
courts,  exclusively,  and  in  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States  ultimately,  the  authority  of  deciding  on 
the  constitutionality  of  any  act  or  law  of  the  Congress 
of  the  United  States/^  Other  States  responded  in  the 
same  vein. 

The  resolution  of  Khode  Island  contains  the  true  con- 
stitutional doctrine  of  the  relations  of  the  State  and  the 
nation.  When  Mr.  Jefferson,  through  the  Kentucky 
resolutions,  declared  that  State  and  Nation  had  ^*^no 
common  judge, he  denied  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States  that  great  and  beneficent  function,  the 
exercise  of  which  has  made  this  country  what  it  is,  and 
through  the  continued  exercise  of  which  alone  can 
American  nationality  be  sustained.  In  a  report  made  to 
the  Virginia  legislature,  Mr.  Madison,  who  had  then 
become  a  member,  probably  for  that  purpose,  sought  to 
break  the  force  of  the  hostile  r  spouses  from  the  other 
States  by  declaring,  first,  that  it  had  not  been  proposed 
that  nullification  should  be  resorted  to  for  trivial  rea- 
sons, but  only  in  case  of  long-continued  and  outrageous 
violation  of  the  reserved  rights  of  the  States  ;  and,  sec- 
ondly, that  nullification  should  only  be  resorted  to  in 
cases  where  the  Supreme  Court  itself  had  joined  with 


154 


THE  MAKIlSra  OF  THE  NATION 


Congress  in  approving  such  violations.  Mr.  Madison 
was  logically  correct  in  assuming  that  a  situation  might 
conceivably  arise  in  which  the  Judiciary  should  join 
with  Congress  in  flagrant  and  outrageous  invasions  of 
the  rights  of  the  States  ;  and  he  was  also  logically  cor- 
rect in  stating  that^  in  such  a  situation,  if  redress  be- 
came hopeless,  the  right  to  resist  these  invasions  must 
exist  somewhere.  But  Mr.  Madison  was  both  logically 
and  politically  in  error  when  he  pointed  to  nullification 
as  the  proper  resort.  In  such  a  situation  as  he  describes, 
the  right  to  redress  wrongs  done  under  the  Constitution 
would  lie  with  the  people  who  established  the  Constitu- 
tion which  had  thus  been  perverted,  and  who  might,  for 
sufficient  reasons,  destroy  it.    The  true  rem- 

T  r  u  G  rGin—  — 

edy  against  edy,  then,  is  not  nullification,  but  rebellion, 
usurpation.  ^pj^^  latter  right  always  exists  ;  and  no  polit- 
ical writer  in  these  days  would  venture  to  deny  that,  if 
any  government,  whether  a  monarchy  or  a  republic, 
becomes  thoroughly  and  hopelessly  perverted  from  its 
proper  office  of  serving  the  interests  and  the  liberties  of 
its  people,  the  people  may  rise  and  put  it  down.  This 
is  the  doctrine  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  ;  it  is 
the  doctrine  of  modern  freedom,  the  doctrine  of  com- 
mon-sense. To  inject  nullification  into  a  perverted 
political  situation  would  be  to  add  anarchy  to  tyranny. 

The  battle  over  the  resolutions  of  1798-99  went 
against  the  advocates  of  nullification.  That  heresy,  in- 
Fatuous-  deed,  was  not  stamped  out.  It  was  even  yet 
re8^oiut?ons*of  reappear  in  our  politics  ;  but  the  great 
1798-99.  debate  which  has  been  hurriedly  described 
destroyed  its  prestige  and  greatly  crippled  its  malignant 
power.  When,  long  years  after,  it  was  again  asserted, 
during  the  fierce  contest  over  the  tariff  of  1832,  it  found 
a  people  who  had  been  educated  to  regard  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States  as    the  common  judge 


THE  ADMINISTKATION  OF  JOHN  ADAMS  155 

between  JSTation  and  State.  But  more  remains  to  be 
said  regarding  the  resolutions  of  1798-99.  Had  the  spe- 
cial friends  of  the  general  government  been  permitted 
to  choose  the  occasion  on  which  the  doctrine  of  nullifi- 
cation should  be  put  forward,  they  could  not  have  found 
another  which  was  so  well  suited  to  bring  that  doctrine 
into  contempt.  The  Alien  and  Sedition  Laws  had  fur- 
nished the  grievance  which  led  Kentucky  and  Virginia 
to  take  this  most  doubtful  and  dangerous  position  ;  yet 
each  of  these  laws  was  to  expire  by  limitation  within 
three  years ;  and,  in  fact,  before  that  term  closed,  a 
Congress  and  a  President  had  been  elected  intensely 
hostile  to  the  principles  of  this  legislation,  thus  putting 
the  renewal  or  continuance  of  those  laws  out  of  the 
question.  It  was  against  alleged  abuses  so  brief  and 
transient  that  Jefferson  and  Madison  would  have  in- 
voked the  evil  spirit  of  nullification,  which  would  make 
stable  government  and  a  permanent  union  impossible. 
Eather  than  bear  with  patience  and  manly  fortitude  a 
wrong,  however  severe,  during  a  space  so  short,  these 
two  statesmen  of  the  Revolution  would  have  had  the  na- 
tion submit  to  anarchy  in  the  immediate  instance,  with 
civil  war  in  the  background. 

There  remain  to  be  considered  certain  other  acts  and 
events  of  this  administration  which  had  not  much  to  do 
with  the  movement  of  parties  and  the  development  of 
politics,  but  which  still  require  to  be  considered.  In 
1798  was  formed  the  so-called  Mississippi  Territory, 
comprising  substantially  the  present  States  of  Missis- 
sippi and  Alabama  ;  and,  in  1800,  the  Indiana  Territory, 
comprising  substantially  the  present  States  of  Indiana, 
Illinois,  Michigan,  and  Wisconsin.  The  word  Territory 
had  now  come  to  be  used  with  a  perfectly  definite  sig- 
nification, to  characterize  a  region  which  had  not  yet 
become  ripe  for  Statehood  ;  but  which  was  organized 


156 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


provisionally,  for  political  purposes,  by  act  of  Con- 
gress.    As  such  a  territory  Became  more  densely  settled, 
^   .   it  might  either  be  admitted  entire,  as  a  State, 

New   tern-      .  i-i    i-        o  ^  ^  . 

torial  organi-  With  a  Constitution  iramed  by  a  convention 
of  its  own  people  ;  or  the  nearer  and  more 
populous  part  might  be  admitted,  the  remainder  being 
still  left  in  a  territorial  condition,  to  become  in  time 
itself  a  State. 

Congress  met  in  the  new  capital,  on  the  banks  of  the 
Potomac,  November  17,  1800.  The  name  of  Washing- 
The  new  capi-  givcn  to  the  permanent  seat  of  gov- 

tai.  ernment,  which  had  been  laid  out  as  a  city 
by  Major  TEnfant,  a  French  engineer  in  the  employ  of 
the  United  States.  The  plan  had  been  drawn  on  such 
an  immense  scale  that  Washington  was  destined  to  re- 
main for  sixty  years  a  city  of  magnificent  distances, 
with  dreary  and  desolate  intervals,  and  with  bad  and  at 
times  almost  impassable  streets.  But  as,  in  the  won- 
derful growth  of  the  nation,  the  outlines  of  the  city 
were  filled  in  with  comely  dwellings  and  splendid  pub- 
lic buildings,  Washington  was  to  become  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  capitals  of  the  world. 

Congress  in  1800  enacted  the  first  bankruptcy  law  of 
the  United  States.    The  passage  of  this  law  was  due  to 

The  first  ^^^^  ^^^^  ^^^^  Federalist  party  comprised 
bankruptcy  the  greater  portion  of  the  commercial  and 
capitalist  interests  of  the  country.  We  shall 
see  how  quickly,  when  the  Republicans  came  into  power 
under  Jefferson,  this  law  was  repealed. 

In  1800  was  taken  the  second  census  of  the  United 
States.  The  total  population  was  ascertained  to  be 
The  second  5,308,483.    The  gain  since  1790  had  been 

census.  tliirty-fivc  per  cent.,  a  rate  of  increase  which 
would  allow  population  to  double  in  twenty-two  or 
twenty-three  years. 


THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  JOHN  ADAMS  157 


On  December  14^  1799,  Washington  died  at  Mount 
Vernon,  after  a  brief  illness.  Although  definitively 
retired  from  public  life,  his  presence  with  Death  of 
his  countrymen  had  been  a  force  continually  Washington, 
operating  for  union,  peace,  and  harmony.  His  removal 
was  a  blow  to  the  new  nation,  which  needed  his  influ 
ence  hardly  less  in  those  stormy  times  than  in  some  of 
the  more  manifest  crises  of  our  history.  It  does  not 
need  to  be  said  that  the  death  of  AVashington  moved  the 
country  profoundly,  and  that  he  was  mourned  by  all 
classes  and  all  sections. 

Our  narrative  from  this  point  has  to  deal  with  ever- 
deepening  divisions  among  the  Federalists;  and  first 
let  us  speak  of  the  split  in  the  cabinet.  It 

An  inherited 

has  been  stated  that  Mr.  Adams  retained  the  cabinet. 
Secretaries  who  had  been  left  in  office  by  Washington. 
This  fact  proved  to  be  the  spring  and  fountain  of  un- 
numbered woes.  It  was  distinctly  bad  policy.  A  new 
President  should  have  a  new  cabinet  all  his  own,  each 
member  owing  his  place  to  the  distinct  preference  of  his 
chief.  Men  left  over  from  a  former  administration  can- 
not be  expected  to  be  as  loyal  and  single-minded  as  if 
they  had  been  called  to  office  fresh  from  the  people  or 
from  congressional  life.  But  the  objection  to  the  reten- 
tion of  the  members  of  a  previous  cabinet  rises  to  a 
maximum  where  the  late  President  has  been  of  tran- 
scendent fame  and  power,  like  Washington.  In  such  a 
case  the  retained  Secretaries,  being  human,  could  hardly 
fail  to  feel  as  if  the  traditions  of  the  government  were 
in  their  keeping,  and  as  if  the  fact  that  they  had  been 
the  confidential  advisers  of  such  a  man  gave  them  a  cer- 
tain authority  and  influence  above  what  belonged  to 
them,  personally.  We  might  have  supposed  that  Mr. 
Adams  retained  his  predecessor's  Secretaries,  not  so 
much  out  of  deference  to  Washington  as  on  account  of 


168 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


the  scarcity  of  cabinet  timber  (Washington  having 
been,  at  the  last,  not  a  little  troubled  to  get  anybody  at  all 
to  serve  in  this  capacity),  were  it  not  that  Mr.  Adams  has 
himself  stated  that  at  the  beginning  he  had  no  objection 
to  any  of  these  officers  and  entertained  no  thought  of 
removing  them.*  Mr.  Adams  afterward  came  to  con- 
sider this  the  great  mistake  of  his  administration.  His 
subsequent  troubles  he  attributed  largely  to  the  mem- 
bers of  his  cabinet,  whom  he  regarded  as  disposed  not 
only  openly  to  domineer  over  him,  but  secretly  to  in- 
trigue against  him. 

That  at  least  three  of  Mr.  Adamses  cabinet  were,  dur- 
ing  the  greater  part  of  his  term  of  office,  in  close  corre- 

The  secre-  spondencc  with  a  person  whom  Mr.  Adams 
againsT^The  regarded  as  his  rival,  if  not  his  enemy  ;  that 
President.  ^j^^y  communicated  to  that  person  and  to 
others  information  which  Mr.  Adams  did  not  desire 
communicated,  and  which  was  intended  to  be  used 
against  him  ;  and  that  his  Secretaries  did  frequently  in- 
voke, as  the  means  of  restraining  him  in  his  fixed  pur- 
poses, influences  which  Mr.  Adams  deprecated  as  prej- 
udicial to  his  interests  and  disparaging  to  his  dignity  : 
these  things  cannot  be  questioned.  It  does  not  need  to 
be  said  that  nothing  would  justify  such  action  except 
some  great  emergency  involving  the  safety  of  the  nation. 
Circumstances  may,  indeed,  be  conceived  where  cabinet 
officers  would  rightly  deem  it  their  duty  to  "  stick  (as 
Senator  Sumner  wrote  to  Secretary  Stanton),  and  to 
perform  such  an  odious  and  offensive  part  as  the  sole 
means  of  checking  designs  immediately  dangerous  to 
the  liberties  or  the  life  of  their  country.  Such  an 
emergency,  for  instance,  existed  in  the  last  year  of  Mr. 

*  Before  his  inauguration  he  had  written:  Pickering  and  aU  his 
colleagues  are  as  much  attached  to  me  as  I  desire.  I  have  no  jealousies 
from  that  quarter." 


THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  JOHN  ADAMS  159 


Buchanan^s  administration,  while  the  war  of  secession 
was  impending.  But  no  claim,  of  this  kind  can  be  put 
forward  in  behalf  of  Mr.  Adams's  Secretaries.  The  Pres- 
dent  was  as  honest  and  brave  a  man  as  ever  lived ;  he 
was  deeply  devoted  to  the  interests  of  his  country. 

But  while  nothing  can  justify  the  actions  recited,  sev- 
eral things  may  be  adduced  to  qualify  the  condemnation 
to  be  pronounced.    In  the  first  place,  these 

i-i  1    J  •  £  ±1    '        ExcuscB  for 

gentlemen  had  an  overweening  sense  01  their  the  secreta- 
own  importance  from  having  been  the  advisers 
of  Washington,  and  regarded  themselves  as  being,  in  a 
certain  sense,  the  depositories  of  the  first  President's 
opinions,  wishes,  and  plans.  Had  they  been  greater  men 
themselves,  they  would  probably  have  been  less  puffed 
up  by  that  relationship.  In  the  second  place,  they  ap- 
pear to  have  been  much  influenced  by  a  view  of  their 
official  position  which  made  them  out  to  be,  not  the 
President's  confidential  advisers  and  supporters,  bound 
to  be  loyal  to  him  so  long  as  they  remained  in  his  cab- 
inet, but  as  persons  having  a  claim  upon  a  share  of  the 
executive  office.  In  the  third  place,  they  were  all  deeply 
under  the  influence  of  Mr.  Hamilton  ;  looked  up  to  him 
as  the  great  light  of  their  party  and  its  true  leader  ;  and 
deceived  themselves  into  a  feeling  that  their  allegiance 
was  to  him  rather  than  to  Mr.  Adams,  whom  they  re- 
garded as  smashing  the  Federalist  crockery  by  his  bun- 
gling obstinacy.  Finally,  it  should  be  said  that  the  tra- 
ditions of  the  government  were  then  unformed,  and  the 
ethics  of  cabinet  office  were  not  well  understood.  Now- 
adays such  a  course  would  be  impossible  in  the  case  of 
any  man  of  character. 

This  matter  of  the  relations  of  President  Adams  to  his 
cabinet  would  not  justify  so  much  attention,  were  it  of 
personal  interest  only  ;  but  the  condition  of  things  we 
have  recited  became  no  inconsiderable  part  of  the  causes 


160 


THE  MAKIKG  OF  THE  NATION 


which  transferred  the  control  of  the  country  to  the 
opposition  party  and  changed  the  history  of  the  United 
States.    Mr.  Hamilton  had  been  profoundly  disaffected 

Hamilton's  ^y  the  action  of  the  President  in  seeking  to 
Adams^^^  avcrt  War  with  France.  He  sincerely  believed 
that  the  time  for  war  had  fully  come  ;  but  it 
was  his  own  personal  ambitions  which  drove  him  on  to 
thwart  and  injure  Mr.  Adams  in  Congress  and  before 
the  country.  Hamilton  had  no  thought  of  his  own 
election  ;  that  was  clearly  impossible.  But  he  believed 
that  by  joining  with  Mr.  Adams  in  the  nomination  * 
some  moderate  Federalist  of  high  standing  who  should 
be  unobjectionable  to  any  of  the  party^  he  might  then, 
by  influencing  the  votes  in  the  Electoral  Colleges,  throw 
Mr.  Adams  out.  For  this  purpose  he  selected  General 
Charles  C.  Pinckney,  of  South  Carolina,  of  whom  it  is 
sufficient  to  say  in  a  word  that  he  was  entirely  incapable 
of  being  a  party  to  such  an  intrigue.  In  furtherance  of 
his  plan  Mr.  Hamilton,  in  1800,  made  a  tour  through 
New  England,  where  he  found  the  people  little  disposed 
to  sacrifice  Mr.  Adams. 

It  was  at  about  this  point  that  the  President  became 
sufficiently  aware  of  the  situation  to  determine  him  to 
Disruption  of  P^^^  with  two  of  his  Secretaries.  Mr._Mc- 

the  cabinet,  jjcury,  the  head  of  the  War  Department,  had 
been,  on  all  accounts,  the  least  satisfactory  member  of 
the  cabinet,  while  he  had  been  very  active  in  the  in- 
trigues of  Hamilton.  Colonel  Pickering  was  a  man  of 
far  higher  ability  ;  but  his  antagonism  to  the  President's 
policy  had  become  so  pronounced  that  Mr.  Adams  sought 
and  obtained  his  resignation  also.  Mr.  Wolcott,  how- 
ever, still  remained  in  office,  the  President  entertaining 
no  doubt  of  his  fidelity.    The  charge  of  suspiciousness. 


*  It  is  to  be  remembered  that,  at  this  time,  each  elector  voted  for  two 
persons,  without  designating  which  he  intended  to  make  President. 


THE  ADMINISTRATIO]^  OF  JOHN  ADAMS  161 

SO  frequently  made  against  Mr.  Adams,  seems  almost 
ludicrous  in  view  of  the  fact  that  he  had  for  years  re- 
tained in  his  political  family^'  three  men  who  were  in 
immediate  communication  with  his  great  rival.  The 
place  of  Colonel  Pickering  was  taken  by  John  Marshall, 
of  Virginia,  soon  to  become  Chief -Justice  ;  and  that 
of  Mr.  McHenry  by  Samuel  Dexter,  of  Massachusetts. 
Both  of  these  appointments  were  of  a  high  order.  Had 
Mr.  Adams  possessed  such  advisers  from  the  first,  his 
administration  might  have  had  a  different  issue.  Mr. 
Wolcott  held  on  until  November,  in  the  meantime  fur- 
nishing confidential  information  to  Mr.  Hamilton,  for 
the  express  purpose  of  its  being  used  against  Mr.  Adams. 
Upon  his  resignation  Mr.  Dexter  was  transferred  to  the 
Treasury  ;  and,  a  little  later,  Koger  Griswold,  of  Con- 
necticut, was  made  Secretary  of  War. 

Finding  himself  foiled  in  his  efforts  to  secure,  in  ad- 
vance, by  personal  and  private  communications  and 
arrangements,  the  substitution  of  General  Pinckney  for 
Mr.  Adams  in  the  coming  election  ;  irritated  at  some 
of  the  rebuffs  he  had  received  ;  made  doubly  angry  with 
Mr.  Adams  because  there  was  so  little  that  could  be 
alleged  against  him  ;  borne  on  by  his  overweening  am- 
bition, Mr.  Hamilton  proceeded  to  the  extraordinary 
step  of  issuing  a  pamphlet  against  the  President,  just  on 
the  eve  (October,  1800)  of  the  election,  in  which  Mr. 
Adams  was  to  be  the  candidate  of  his  own  party.  The 
pamphlet  was  entitled,  Letter  from  Alexander  Hamil- 
ton, concerning  the  public  conduct  and  character  of 
John  Adams,  Esq.,  President  of  the  United  States.^'  It 
severely  reflected  upon  the  President  for  his  pardon  of 
Fries  and  for  his  initiation  of  the  new  mission  to  France, 
matters  certainly  within  the  discretion  of  the  chief  magis- 
trate of  a  nation.  For  the  rest,  the  pamphlet  contained 
little  more  than  accusations  against  Mr.  Adams  of  an  im- 
11 


162 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


practicable  spirit,  of  an  inordinate  vanity,  of  imperfections 
of  temper.  Even  so,  Mr.  Hamilton  did  not  reach  the  re- 
sult of  advising  his  countrymen  to  vote  against  Mr.  Adams. 
A  more  lame  and  impotent  conclusion was  never  seen. 
The  publication  was  an  act  of  spite  and  angry  impatience 
Hamilton's  aimless  rage,  which  are  only  matter  of 
fatuous  pam-  sorrow  whcu  onc  remembers  the  services  of 

phlet. 

the  author  to  the  cause  of  American  inde- 
pendence and  union,  and  his  transcendent  abilities.  A 
little  more  of  the  greatness  of  soul  which  lifted  Wash- 
ington and  Jay  so  high  in  the  esteem  of  their  country- 
men, would  have  prevented  this  painful  exhibition. 

It  was  under  auspices  so  unfavorable,  with  internal 
divisions  and  intrigues  so  discreditable,  that  the  Feder- 
alist party  went  into  the  fourth  presidential  election,  to 
fight  a  losing  battle.  With  the  single  exception  of  the 
public  indignation  aroused  by  the  conduct  of  the  French 
Directory,  which  has  been  recited,  the  drift  had  been 
steadily  against  them.  The  country  was  every  year  be- 
coming more  democratic.  The  Eepublican  party  was  a 
unit,  controlled  by  a  masterly  politician,  who  was  now 
to  be  for  the  second  time  its  candidate  for  the  presi- 
dency ;  while  in  the  cardinal  State  of  New  York,*  on 
which  the  coming  national  election  was  to  turn,  Mr. 

The  fourth  J^^^^son  had  as  his  political  manager  an  able, 
presidential  brilliant,  and  unscrupulous  man,  the  soon-to- 

election.  ,     „  .    «  .  -r»  •  i 

be-forever  miamous  Aaron  Burr,  m  whom 
strong  ambition  joined  with  intense  hatred  of  Hamilton 
to  induce  him  to  strain  every  nerve  to  detach  that  now 
wavering  State  from  its  traditional  allegiance  to  Federal- 
ist principles.    As  the  lead}T?2  Federalists  had  too  well 

*  The  Republicans  had  carried  the  city  in  1798,  and  early  in  180b 
carried  the  State  in  the  Gubernatorial  election.  The  political  organ- 
ization of  that  party  in  the  city  was  then  almost  as  complete  and  effec- 
tive as  in  these  later  days. 


THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  JOHN  ADAMS  163 


foreseen^  their  party  was  doomed  to  defeat.  New  York, 
which  before  had  voted  for  Adams,  transferred  its  votes 
to  Jefferson  and  Burr,  who  received,  in  all,  TheRepub- 
seventy-three  votes  each,  against  sixty-five  ?!!ldams"de^ 
foj  Adams  and  sixty-four  for  C.  C.  Pinckney. 
It  had  been  thought  that  South  Carolina  might  possibly 
change  the  result  by  casting  her  electoral  votes  for  her 
own  son,  Pinckney,  while  rejecting  Adams,  just  as,  four 
years  before,  she  had  voted  for  the  other  Pinckney,  then 
the  Federalist  candidate  for  Vice-President,  while  voting 
also  for  Jefferson.  Indeed,  it  was  charged  that  precisely 
this  had  been  Mr.  Hamilton's  expectation  and  the  pur- 
pose of  his  efforts.  He  had  strongly  urged  the  northern 
Federalists  to  vote  for  Pinckney  and  not  to  throw  away 
a  single  ballot.  In  fact  they  had  done  so,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  one  vote  given  to  John  Jay  by  Ehode  Island. 
But  if  Mr.  Hamilton  really  expected  South  Carolina  to 
vote  for  Pinckney,  while  voting  also  for  Jefferson,  he 
was  disappointed,  as  that  State  gave  an  equal  vote  to 
the  Eepublican  candidates.  General  Pinckney  through- 
out refused  to  be  a  party  to  the  plot  to  bring  him- 
self in,  instead  of  Mr.  Adams.  There  had  been  but 
one  other  opportunity  to  avert  the  impending  result. 
Hamilton  had  written  to  Jay,  then  Governor  of  New 
York,  urging  that,  inasmuch  as  the  State  had  gone  Ee- 
publican, the  legislature,  which,  though  adjourned  for 
the  year,  had  still  some  weeks  of  its  legal  term  unex- 
pired, should  be  called  together,  in  special  session,  to 
anticipate  the  action  of  its  successors  and  provide  for 
the  choice  of  Electors  by  congressional  districts.  This 
letter  the  high-minded  Governor  filed  away,  with  the 
endorsement,  Proposing  a  measure  for  party  pur- 
poses, which  I  think  it  would  not  become  me  to 
adopt.'' 

But,  while  the  Eepublicans  had  defeated  their  oppo- 


164 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


nents  they  had  not  themselves  elected  anyone  either 
President  or  Vice-President,  owing  to  the  absurd  provi- 
sion of  the  Constitution  already  mentioned.  The  elec- 
tion had  resulted  in  a  tie.  The  contest  was,  therefore, 
according  to  the  Constitution,  thrown  into  the  House 
The  election  Representatives,  where  each  State  was  to 
thrown  into  havc  onc  votc.    The  number  of  States  being: 

the  House—  ...  ^  ^ 

Burr's  in-  now  Sixteen,  mne  were  necessary  lor  a 
tngue.  choice.    Here  was  a  situation  which  gave 

room  for  those  great  talents  for  intrigue  which  after- 
ward made  Burr  so  evilly  famous.  He  believed  that  the 
Federalists  would  rather  have  him  President  than  Jef- 
ferson ;  and  he  determined  to  betray  his  party  and  his 
own  chief  and  secure  the  glittering  prize  for  himself. 
Such  a  contest  was  an  immorality.  Burros  action  was 
simply  rascally.  The  course  of  the  Federalists  in  Con- 
gress, who  were  willing  to  vote  for  him  in  order  to  de- 
feat JefEerson,  was  bad  enough,  though  it  did  not  in- 
volve personal  or  party  infidelity.  For  a  while  it  seemed 
as  though  Burr  would  succeed  in  his  design.  The  bal- 
loting continued  about  a  week  without  choice,  Jefferson 
receiving  the  votes  of  New  York,  New  J ersey,  Pennsyl^ 
vania,  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  Georgia,  Kentucky,  and 
Tennessee  ;  Burr  receiving  those  of  New  Hampshire, 
Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  Delaware, 
and  South  Carolina.  Vermont  and  Maryland  were  di- 
vided. The  Federalists,  with  but  two  or  three  excep- 
tions, voted  steadily  for  Burr.  At  last,  a  growing  sense 
of  the  impropriety  of  the  Federalist  course,  and  an  in- 
creasing savor  from  Burr's  bad  fame,  combined  with 
the  fear  that  March  4th  might  come  without  an  elec- 
tion, put  an  end  to  this  disgraceful  contest.  On  the 
thirty-sixth  ballot  the  Federalist  member  from  Vermont 
purposely  stayed  away,  while  the  Maryland  Federalists 
cast  blank  ballots  in  their  State  delegation.    As  a  re- 


THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  JOHN  ADAMS  165 


suit,  Jefferson  was  elected  by  the  votes  of  ten  States, 
Burr  becoming  Vice-President. 

Such  was  the  outcome  of  the  fourth  presidential  elec- 
tion, which  effected  a  most  important  change  of  direc- 
tion in  the  politics  of  the  United  States.  (Causes  of 
The  downfall  of  the  Federalist  party  had  the  Federalist 
been  due,  first,  to  mistaken  legislation,  as  in 
the  case  of  the  Alien  and  Sedition  Laws,  to  divided  coun- 
cils, and  to  jealousies  and  animosities  among  its  leaders  ; 
secondly,  to  the  remarkable  political  astuteness  and  sa- 
gacity of  Mr.  Jefferson,  and  to  the  unrelenting  persist- 
ency with  which  for  twelve  years  he  followed  out  his  ideas 
and  purposes ;  thirdly,  to  the  organized  power  of  the 
first  New  York  Democratic  machine, under  Aaron 
Burr ;  and  lastly  to  a  steady  change  which  had  been 
going  on  in  the  body  of  the  American  people  in  the 
direction  of  democracy.  That  change  had  in  it  much 
that  was  good.  The  distrust  of  the  plain  people,"'  to 
use  the  phrase  of  President  Lincoln,  the  unwillingness 
to  believe  in  the  essential  patriotism,  justice,  and  honesty 
of  the  masses,  which  had  been  so  freely  avowed  in  the 
Constitutional  Convention  of  1787,  and  which  through- 
out had  profoundly  affected  the  Federalist  policy ;  the 
reliance  upon  estates  and  powers  within  the  common- 
wealth, which  was  of  the  very  essence  of  Hamilton's 
philosophy  of  government,  and  in  which  even  Wash- 
ington and  John  Adams  shared  ;  the  disposition  to  re- 
sort, on  one  side,  to  the  influence  of  wealth,  and  on 
the  other,  to  intimidation  and  repression  for  checking 
the  violence  of  political  discussion  :  these  things  were 
to  disappear,  and  disappear  forever,  from  American  pub- 
lic life.  For  good  or  for  evil,  but  altogether,  as  we  may 
well  believe,  for  good,  in  the  large,  the  long  result,  the 
American  people  had  taken  the  direction  of  more  pure 
and  intense  democracy  ;  and  the  nation  was  hereafter 


166 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


to  be  governed  by  men  who  professed  to  believe  and  in 
general  did  believe^  in  the  integrity,  honesty,  and  patriot- 
ism of  the  masses.  From  the  time  of  the  defeat  of  the 
Federalists  onward,  no  man,  of  whatsoever  party,  could 
long  hold  a  conspienous  place  in  American  public  life 
while  avowing  sentiments  such  as  had  been  in  a  high 
degree  characteristic  of  those  to  whom  the  destinies  of 
the  nation  were  at  first  entrusted.  All  this  we  may  well- 
believe  to  have  been  of  good.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
incoming  party,  alike  through  reaction  and  through 
lowness  of  aims  and  ideas  on  the  part  of  many  leaders, 
was  long  to  manifest  a  jealousy  of  wealth  and  culture, 
a  preference  for  mean  motives  and  unworthy  arts,  and 
even  a  disposition  to  truckle  to  the  dishonest  elements 
of  society,  especially  in  matters  of  financial  legislation, 
which  cannot  be  too  severely  condemned. 

For  the  defeat  of  the  Federalist  party  Mr.  Adams  long 
had  to  bear  the  chief  blame.  Mr.  Hamilton  and  the 
late  President's  Secretaries  did  not  cease  to  declare  that 
it  was  Mr.  Adams^'s  vanity,  wilfulness  and  obstinacy,  and 
especially  his  disregard  of  their  advice  and  influence, 
which  had  brought  about  the  disaster.  And  this  view 
has,  thinkingly  or  unthinkingly,  been  adopted  by  most 
writers  on  the  history  of  that  time.  But  at  this  dis- 
tance we  may  well  inquire  who  made  Mr.  Hamilton  a 
ruler  and  a  judge  over  Mr.  Adams  ?  Both  through  his 
official  position  and  through  the  wider  confidence  re- 
posed in  Mr.  Adams  than  in  Mr.  Hamilton  by  the  mae' 
of  the  Federalist  party,  the  President  was  far  better  en- 
titled to  decide  upon  the  policy  of  the  administration 
than  was  his  great  rival  or  his  small  critics.  Certainly 
m  tne  greatest  matter  of  all,  impending  war  with 
France,  Mr.  Adams  took  the  more  sagacious  and  the 
more  patriotic  part.  With  respect  to  the  Alien  and 
Sedition  Laws  he  had  no  responsibility,  except  for  not 


THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  JOHN  ADAMS  167 


vetoing  bills  which  had  been  passed  without  any  initia- 
tive or  impulse  from  him.  Mr.  Adams  had  undoubtedly 
faults  of  bearing,  of  manner,  and  in  some  t^^q  degree 
degree,  also,  of  character.  But  his  name  ams^respon- 
will  go  down  to  the  later  generations  of  his  sibmty. 
countrymen  as  that  of  one  of  the  most  brave,  loyal,  and 
pure-minded  among  the  statesmen  of  the  early  republic. 
In  one  quality  he  surpassed  them  all,  except  only  Wash- 
ington, in  that  he  had  neither  Galilean  nor  Anglican 
sympathies.  An  unfriendly  critic  might  indeed  say  that 
he^hated  both  England  and  France  equally  ;  but  at  any 
rate,  and  this  was  a  virtue  in  those  times,  he  was  neither 
for  one  nor  for  the  other,  but  for  America,  first,  last,  and 
all  the  time,  holding  every  other  nation  friend  or  foe  ac- 
cording as  its  power  was  exerted  for  the  welfare  or  the 
injury  of  his  own  country. 

But  while  the  Eepublicans  thus  triumphed,  Mr. 
Adams  was  yet,  in  the  closing  hours  of  his  administra- 
tion, to  perform  an  act  which  should  have  a  great  in- 
fluence upon  the  destinies  of  the  United  States  through 
a  long  future.  On  January  31st,  Judge  Ellsworth  hav- 
ing resigned  his  office,  John  Marshall  became  Chief - 
Justice,  an  event  second  to  but  few  in  our  ^^^^ 
history.  Marshall  had  nothing  to  do  with  ehaii,  chief- 
making  the  written  Constitution.  Perhaps 
no  man  has  had  so  much  to  do  with  making  the  Consti- 
tution as  it  really  is.  For  thirty-four  years  Chief -Jus- 
tice, it  is  to  him,  more  than  to  all  other  judges,  we  owe 
that  splendid  series  of  judicial  decisions — masterly,  com- 
prehensive, and  overwhelming — which  have  established 
American  nationality  upon  an  impregnable  basis. 


X 


CHAPTER  IX 


JEFFERSON'S  FIRST  TERM 

Twelfth  Amendment  to  the  Constitution — Alleged  Corrupt  Bargain 
— Removal  of  Officeholders — Repeal  of  the  Circuit  Courts  Bill 
— War  on  the  Judiciary — Impeachment  of  Judges  Addison, 
Chase  and  others — Admission  of  Ohio — Reapportionment  of 
Representation — Military  Academy  Founded— Repeal  of  Excise 
Duties — Naturalization — Repeal  of  Bankruptcy  Act — Florida 
and  Louisiana — Spain  Cedes  Louisiana  to  France — Napoleon 
Sells  it  to  the  United  States — Political  Consequences  of  this 
Measure — Republican  Party  Surrenders  Principle  of  Strict 
Construction — Difficulty  with  Spain — Abortive  Treaty  with 
England — Changes  in  the  Cabinet — Re-election  of  Jefferson — 
Burr  Kills  Hamilton. 

The  country  had  borne  long  enough  with  the  stupid 
provision  regarding  the  choice  of  President  and  Vice- 
President.  Such  a  source  of  mischief  and  annoyance 
could  no  longer  be  tolerated.  Accordingly^  Congress 
The  Twelfth  proposed  the  Twelfth  Amendment  to  the  Con- 
to^he^consti-  stitutiou,  which  provided  that,  in  the  electoral 
tution.  ballots,  persons  voted  for  as  President  should 
be  distinctly  named,  and  likewise  the  persons  voted  for 
as  Vice-President ;  and  that  separate  lists  of  all  persons 
voted  for  as  President  and  of  all  persons  voted  for  as 
Vice-President,  with  the  number  of  votes  for  each,  should 
be  sent  to  the  President  of  the  Senate.  In  case  no  per- 
son had  received  the  votes  for  President  of  a  majority  of 
the  whole  number  of  electors  appointed,  then  from  the 
persons  having  the  highest  numbers,  not  exceeding 
three,  on  the  list  of  those  voted  for,  the  House  of  Eep- 
resentatives  should  elect  the  President.   But  in  choosing 


JEFFERSON'S  FIRST  TERM 


169 


the  President  the  votes  should  be  taken  by  States,  the 
representation  from  each  State  having  one  vote.  The 
quorum  for  this  purpose  should  consist  of  a  member  or 
members  from  two-thirds  of  the  States  ;  and  a  majority 
oTall  the  States  should  be  necessary  to  a  choice.  Should 
the  House  fail  thus  to  choose  a  President  before  the 
fourth  day  of  March,  then  the  Vice-President  should  act 
as  President.  In  like  manner  should  no  person  receive 
the  votes  of  a  majority  of  the  whole  number  of  electors 
appointed,  for  Vice-President,  then,  from  the  two  high- 
est on  the  list,  the  Senate  should  choose  the  Vice-Presi- 
dent ;  a  quorum  for  the  purpose  to  consist  of  two-thirds 
of  the  whole  number  of  Senators,  and  a  majority  of  the 
whole  number  to  be  necessary  to  a  choice.  The  amend- 
ment thus  proposed  wa§  ratified  and  became  a  part  of 
the  Constitution. 

Let  us  now  consider  the  civil  service  under  Mr.  Jef- 
ferson. Congress  having,  just  before  the  close  of  Mr. 
Adamses  administration,  provided  for  additional  officers 
— judges,  attorneys,  and  marshals,  in  connection  with  a 
large  extension  of  the  United  States  courts  *  — Mr.  Adams 
proceeded,  during  the  last  three  weeks  of  his  term,  to 
make  appointments  for  these  offices,  mainly  ^  Adams's 
out  of  his  own  immediate  supporters.  These  "midnight" 
appointments  were  continued  up  to  the  last 
day.  One  dramatic  story,  with  perhaps  more  of  poetry 
than  of  truth,  represents  Mr.  Adams  as  engaged  in  sign- 
ing commissions  until  the  clock  struck  twelve  on  the 
night  of  the  third  of  March.  Hence  the  term  mid- 
night, as  applied  to  this  whole  batch  of  appointments. 
Even  the  Federalists  could  hardly  blame  Mr.  Jefferson 
for  refusing  to  consider  himself  bound  by  commissions 
issued  thus  in  the  last  hours  of  a  dying  administration. 

*  It  was  by  this  act  that  the  Circuit  Courts  of  the  United  States  were 
established. 


170 


THE  MAKIlSra  OF  THE  NATION 


Mr.  Jefferson^  however,  in  not  a  few  cases,  issued  new 
commissions  to  the  persons  selected  by  Mr.  Adams. 

But  the  President  was  subjected  to  censure  for  his 
dealings  with  public  offices,  at  this  time,  in  two  other 
respects.  It  was  charged,  and  deposition  to  that  effect 
was  formally  made,  by  James  A.  Bayard,  of  Delaware, 
afterward  Senator  from  that  State,  and  one  of  the  Com- 
missioners who  negotiated  the  treaty  of  peace  with  Great 
Britain,  in  1814,  to  the  effect  that,  whij^sJ^presiden^^ 
election  was  pending  in  the  House  of  Kepresentatives, 
he  sought  and  obtained,  through  General  Smith,  assur- 
ances from  Mr.  Jefferson  that,  if  elected,  he  would  not, 
on  political  grounds,  disturb  subordinate  public  offi- 
cers employed  only  in  the  execution  of  details  established 
by  law.^^  Among  those  specifically  mentioned  by  Mr. 
Bayard,  in  conversation  with  General  Smith,  were  the 
collectors  of  customs  at  Philadelphia  and  Wilmington. 
That  assurance  proving  sufficient,  according  to  Mr.  Bay- 
ard^s  deposition,  the  opposition  of  Vermont,  Mary- 
land, and  Delaware  was  immediately  withdrawn,  and 
Mr.  Jefferson  was  made  President  by  the  votes  of  ten 
States.  This  charge  produced  a  great  sensation  at  the 
time  ;  but,  looking  back  upon  the  situation,  we  may  see 
how  the  circumstances  could  have  arisen  without  any 
The  aUeged  thought  of  a  corrupt  bargain  on  Mr.  Jeffer- 
corrupt  bar-  son^s  part.  General  Smith  might  naturally 
enough  have  asked  Mr.  Jefferson  if  it  was 
in  accordance  with  his  views  that  subordinate  officers 
charged  by  law  with  precise  duties  should  be  removed 
on  political  grounds.  If  General  Smith  had  asked  the 
question  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  that  gentleman  would  assur- 
edly have  given  but  one  answer,  a  decided  ''^o."  This, 
being  communicated  to  Mr.  Bayard,  might  easily  have 
satisfied  that  gentleman  and  his  friends,  and  have  led  to 
the  result  stated.    The  whole  tenor  of  Mr.  Jefferson's 


JEFFERSOJSr'S  FIRST  TERM 


171 


life  is  so  strongly  adverse  to  anything  like  a  corrupt 
bargain  that  no  shadow  of  imputation  from  this  source 
should  rest  upon  his  name. 

Mr.  Jefferson  did,  however,  shortly  after  his  inaugu- 
ration, give  cause  for  some  complaints  by  his  removal  of 
civil  officers  fairly  belonging  to  the  class  characterized 
by  Mr.  Bayard.  The  case  which  caused  the  greatest 
scandal  was  the  displacement  of  Elizur  Goodrich,  as 
collector  at  New  Haven,  and  the  appointment  of  an  aged 
and  infirm  man  to  the  position.  Upon  this  the  mer- 
chants of  that  city  addressed  a  remonstrance  to  the  Pres- 
ident. In  his  reply,  Mr.  Jefferson  insisted  upon  the 
propriety  of  his  action  ;  and,  in  closing  his  letter,  made 
use  of  the  expression  which  afterward  became  so  famous, 
^^that  state  of  things  when  the  only  questions  concern- 
ing a  candidate  shall  be,  is  he  honest  ?  is  he  capable  ?  is 
he  faithful  to  the  Constitution  ? However  virtuously 
Mr.  Jefferson  might  write,  he  in  fact  made  not  a  few 
removals  upon  partisan  grounds.  Yet  that  partisan  re- 
number was  ludicrously  small  in  comparison  ^^^f^ 
with  what  we  have  become  accustomed  to  in 
the  later  days  of  the  republic.  A  good,  smart  assistant- 
postmaster-general,  of  these  times,  would  not  think  he 
had  earned  his  luncheon  if  he  had  not  taken  off  more 
heads  in  one  morning  than  Mr.  Jefferson  did  in  eight 
years. 

The  natural  antagonism  of  the  Republican  party  to 
any  extension  of  the  jurisdiction  or  any  magnifying  of 
the  authority  of  the  national  judiciary,  combined  with 
the  indignation  aroused  by  the  judicial  appointments 
made  by  President  Adams  in  the  last  hours  of  his  ad- 
ministration, secured  an  early  repeal  of  the  law  estab- 
lishing the  Circuit  Courts  of  the  United  States  and  cre- 
ating a  new  body  of  jndges  and  law  officers  therefor. 
The  repeal  was  the  more  easily  effected  because  it  was 


172 


THE  MAKING  OF  TPIE  NATION 


shown  that  the  business  of  the  national  courts  was  not 
increasing  in  a  degree  to  require  this  addition  to  the  ju- 
dicial system.    But  the  wrath  of  the  Kepublicans  was 
The  war  u    ^'^^  satisfied  by  this  measure  ;  and  the  repre- 
'  on  tVe^^uS-  sentatives  of  that  party  proceeded  to  some- 
thing  like  war  upon  the  judiciary,  under 
cover  of  the  constitutional  power  of  impeachment. 

Pennsylvania  led  off  in  this  direction  by  impeaching 
and  removing  one  of  her  own  Federalist  judges,  Addi- 
son, a  man  of  the  highest  character  and  ability.  In 
1804  the  House  of  Eepresentatives,  at  Washington,  im- 
peached and  secured  the  conviction  and  removal,  for 
good  and  sufficient  cause,  it  must  be  confessed,  of  a  Dis- 
trict Judge  of  the  United  States,  Pickering  ;  and  then 
proceeded,  under  the  instigation  of  the  President,  to 
the  impeachment  of  Judge  Chase,  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  whose  bearing  in  the  cases  under  the  Sedition 
Law  had  been  deeply  resented.  That  Judge  Chase  had 
done  much  which  was  properly  the  subject  of  animad- 
version was  undeniable ;  but  there  is  reason  to  believe 
that  the  impeachment  was  really  for  the  purpose  of  in- 
timidating the  national  judiciary  in  general,  and  dimin- 
ishing the  influence  which  this  new  force  was  exerting 
in  moulding  the  Constitution  and  shaping  the  develop- 
ment of  the  nation.  The  trial,*  poorly  conducted  by 
John  Randolph  on  behalf  of  the  impeaching  House,  re- 
sulted in  the  acquittal  of  Judge  Chase  on  most  of  the 
eight  articles,  while  on  none  did  the  vote  for  conviction 
reach  the  required  two-thirds.  This  most  fortunate 
result  terminated  a  movement  which,  had  it  been  car- 
ried as  far  as  its  promoters  desired,  might  have  broken 
the  spirit  of  the  national  judiciary  and  seriously  im- 
paired its  great  and  beneficent  function  in  the  develop- 

*  It  seems  strange  to  read  that  at  this  trial  Aaron  Burr,  then  under  in- 
dictment for  the  murder  of  Hamilton,  presided  over  the  Senate,  by  virt- 
ue of  his  office  as  Vice-President. 


JEFFERSON'S  FIRST  TERM 


173 


ment  of  the  nation.  The  Legislature  of  Pennsylvania, 
indeed,  sought  to  pursue  this  war  upon  Federalist 
judges,  and  impeached  three  judges  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  that  State  ;  but  here  again  the  requisite  two- 
thirds  vote  for  conviction  could  not  be  obtained.  Prob- 
ably these  rude  assaults  upon  the  judiciary,  both  State 
and  national,  were  not  altogether  without  an  effect  for 
good,  in  teaching  our  judges  to  be  careful  regarding  the 
display  of  partisanship  upon  the  bench  ;  but,  while  we 
may  not  wonder  at  the  vindictiveness  of  the  triumphant 
Kepublicans  toward  those  who  had  been  engaged  in  the 
odious  prosecutions  under  the  now  extinct  Federalist 
regime,  we  may  rejoice  that  the  issue  was  so  far  nuga- 
tory as  to  leave  the  judiciary  independent  and  in  unim- 
paired efficiency.  Even  in  the  height  of  this  crusade 
no  responsible  Eepublican  had  dared  to  attempt  to  re- 
constitute the  Supreme  Court  or  to  take  away  any  part 
of  its  jurisdiction,  though  there  were  many  men  prom- 
inent in  that  party  who  would  have  delighted  to  do  so, 
had  they  not  been  restrained  by  the  fear  of  weakening 
the  hold  of  their  party  upon  the  northern  States.  These 
men  saw  the  writing  on  the  wall,^''  although  even  then, 
perhaps,  they  did  not  fully  realize  the  extent  of  the 
influence  which  the  Supreme  Court,  under  the  Chief- 
Justiceship  of  Marshall,  was  to  exert  in  moulding  the 
Constitution  and  building  up  a  real  nation. 

It  was  in  this  administration  that  the  great  And  splen- 
did State  of  Ohio  was  added  to  the  Union.  No  citizen 
of  the  republic  can  glance  over  the  history 
of  the  nation,  and  not  be  thrilled  as  he  con- 
templates the  part  which  this  State  has  played  in  that 
mighty  drama,  both  in  war  and  in  peace  ;  and  as  he 
reads  the  roll  of  its  great  men,  its  judges,  its  generals,* 

*  To  speak  of  generals  only,  Ohio  produced  Grant,  Sherman,  Sheridan, 
Buell,  McPherson,  McDowell,  Rosecrans,  D.  S.  Stanley,  and  A.  D.  Mc 
Cook. 


174 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


its  statesmen.  The  population  of  Ohio  at  the  date  of  its 
admission  was  only  45^365.  It  is  now  nearly  one  hun- 
dred times  as  much. 

In  the  reapportionment  of  representation  in  Congress 
which  followed  the  second  census,  the  total  number  of 
Reapportion-  uicmbers  of  the  House  was  increased  from 
ment.  ^^^^       ratio  taken  being  one  repre- 

sentative to  33,000  people.  The  number  assigned  to 
each  State  was  as  follows :  New  Hampshire,  5  ;  Massa- 
chusetts, 17  ;  Vermont,  4 ;  Khode  Island,  2  ;  Connecti- 
cut, 7  ;  New  York,  17  ;  New  Jersey,  6  ;  Pennsylvania, 
18  ;  Delaware,  1 ;  Maryland,  9  ;  Virginia,  22  ;  North 
Carolina,  12  ;  South  Carolina,  8  ;  Georgia,  4 ;  Ken- 
tucky, 6  ;  Tennessee,  3.  From  the  foregoing  it  will  ap- 
pear that  there  were  now  four  distinctly  large  States 
which,  together,  sent  72  representatives  to  Congress,  or 
more  than  one-half  the  total  number.  We  have  also  to 
note  that  there  was  no  proper  group  of  States  of  the 
second  rank.  North  Carolina,  with  twelve,  being  the 
only  State  which  had  more  than  nine  and  fewer  than 
seventeen  representatives. 

It  was  in  this  administration  that  the  Military  Acad- 
emy, destined  to  such  a  glorious  career,  was  established 
The  Military       Wcst  Point.    It  may  with  confidence  be 

Academy,  asscrtcd  that  no  equally  successful  school  is 
known  to  history.  When  the  war  of  1861-65  broke  out, 
there  were  probably  fewer  living  graduates  of  West 
Point  than  of  Williams,  Dartmouth,  or  Amherst ;  yet 
out  of  this  small  number  arose  a  Grant,  a  Lee,  a  Sher- 
man, a  Meade,  a  Jackson,  a  Thomas,  the  two  JohnstonS;, 
a  Hancock,  a  Longstreet,  a  Eeno,  a  Eeynolds,  and  a 
Sheridan,  not  to  mention  scores  of  others  who  com- 
manded divisions  and  corps  with  a  skill,  courage,  and 
address  which  have  excited  the  admiration  of  the  pro- 
fessional soldiers  of  Europe. 


Jefferson's  fikst  term 


175 


We  now  come  to  a  series  of  legislative  measures  which, 
while  they  do  not  seem,  on  the  face  of  them,  of  a  parti- 
san character,  were  all  essentially  involved  in  the  down- 
fall of  the  Federalists  and  in  the  accession  to  power  of 
the  more  democratic  party.  The  first  of  these  was  the 
repeal  of  the  internal  duties  imposed  in  the  ^^^^^ 
administrations  of  Washington  and  Adams,  of  internal 
This  was  done,  not  as  a  matter  of  expediency, 
but  as  a  matter  of  preference  and  definite  policy.  It 
was  not  alone  because  the  whiskey  tax  and  the  stamp 
duties  had  aroused  public  opposition,  even  to  the  point 
of  armed  rebellion  ;  it  was  in  a  far  higher  degree  be- 
cause Mr.  Jeilerson^s  party,  and  particularly  Mr.  Jeffer- 
son himself,  hated  internal  duties  and  eschewed  them  as 
any  proper  part  of  the  revenue  system  of  the  United 
States,  that  it  was  perfectly  safe,  on  March  4,  1801,  to 
predict  that  these  laws  would  not  long  remain  on  the 
statute-book.  The  repeal  was  effected  by  an  act  ap- 
proved April  6,  1802  ;  and  the  United  States  were  thus 
thrown  back  upon  customs  and  the  sale  of  public  lands 
as  their  principal  sources  of  revenue.  The  loss  of  rev- 
enue Mr.  J eff erson  hoped  to  see  partly  compensated  by 
an  increase  in  the  customs  duties,  and  partly  provided 
for  by  a  reduction  of  expenses  all  along  the  line,  but 
especially  at  the  cost  of  the  army,  the  navy,  and  the  ju- 
diciary. All  these  services  were  subjected  to  a  search- 
ing retrenchment,  which  was  bitterly  resented  by  the 
victims  and  by  the  now  helpless  Federalists.  The  an- 
ticipated increase  of  receipts  from  customs  did  not  take 
place  within  the  time  allowed,  so  that  the  readjustment 
of  expenditures  and  income  was  mainly  effected  by  re- 
ductions in  the  military  and  civil  list.  In  the  retrench- 
ments proposed  at  the  outset  of  Mr.  Jefferson^s  admin- 
istration, because  of  the  loss  of  revenue  from  internal 
duties  and  for  the  sake  of  diminishing  the  patronage  of 


176 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  KATION 


the  general  government,  it  was  even  proposed  to  abolish 
the  mint.  It  was  disagreeable  to  the  extreme  opponents 
of  national  power,  headed  by  John  Randolph,  to  see 
the  emblems  and  insignia  of  sovereignty  circulating 
among  the  people,  even  though  it  were  in  no  more  im- 
pressive form  than  copper  cents,  then  practically  our  sole 
coinage.  These  statesmen  desired  to  have  foreign  coins 
used  in  our  currency,  that  the  people  might  not  be  daily 
reminded  that  there  was  a  nation. 

Another  measure  of  Mr.  Jefferson^s  first  Congress  was 
not  less  expressive  of  the  sentiments  and  purposes  of  the 
Eepublican  party.    On  the  inauguration  of 

NaturaUzation.       x  r      j  o 

'  government  it  had  become  necessary  to  define 
the  terms  on  which  foreigners  should  be  admitted  to 
citizenship.  By  an  act  of  1790  an  alien  might  become 
a  citizen  after  two  years^  residence,  upon  application  to 
the  proper  courts  of  any  State  in  which  he  had  resided 
one  year.  By  an  act  of  1795,  in  Washington's  second 
term,  five  years'  residence  was  required,  application  to 
be  made  three  years  before  admission.  In  Mr.  Adams's 
administration  distrust  and  dislike  of  foreigners  had  be- 
come almost  a  characteristic  virtue  of  the  Federalists  ; 
and,  in  1798,  the  year  of  the  Alien  and  Sedition  Laws,  an 
act  was  passed  requiring  not  less  than  fourteen  years^ 
residence,  application  to  be  made  five  years  previous  to 
admission.  Moreover,  this  act,  in  the  very  spirit  of  the 
obnoxious  Alien  Law,  placed  under  surveillance  all 
white  aliens  who  resided  or  who  should  arrive  in  the 
United  States,  requiring  such  persons  to  be  reported 
and  registered.  It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  the  ac- 
cession to  power  of  the  Republican  party,  which  had  al- 
ways been  exceedingly  favorable  to  foreigners,  led  to  the 
early  repeal  of  a  rule  of  naturalization  so  severe,  inhos- 
pitable, and  almost  prescriptive,  as  that  which  the  Fed- 
eralists had  set  up.    Eight  days  after  the  repeal  of  the 


Jefferson's  fikst  term 


177 


internal  duties^  Congress  restored  the  term  of  residence 
to  what  it  had  been  by  the  act  of  1795. 

But  even  more  expressive  still  of  the  affiliations,  sen- 
timents, and  purposes  of  the  party  newly  come  to  power, 
was  the  act  of  December  19,  1803,  by  which  ^^^^^ 
Congress  repealed  the  general  bankruptcy  of  the  ^bank- 
law  of  1800.  Although  no  power  of  the  ^^^^^^ 
general  government  was  more  explicitly  and  unreserv- 
edly granted  in  the  Constitution,  the  Kepublican,  or 
Democratic,  party  has  always  been  unfavorable,  both  in 
the  early  and  in  the  latter  days  of  the  republic,  to  the 
exercise  of  this  power.  Mr.  Jefferson  himself  had  a 
peculiar  animosity  to  bankruptcy  laws,  growing  out 
of  his  dislike  of  commerce,  to  which  allusion  has  been 
made.  Is  commerce  so  much  the  basis  of  the  exist- 
ence of  the  United  States  as  to  call  for  a  bankruptcy 
law?^^  he  writes.  On  the  contrary,  are  we  not  al- 
most merely  agricultural  ?  Should  not  all  laws  be 
made  with  a  view,  essentially,  to  the  poor  husband- 
men?^^ Those  same  ^^poor  husbandmen  have  been 
made  the  excuse  for  a  good  deal  of  rascality  in  the 
United  States.  The  bankruptcy  system  was  doomed 
when  Mr.  Jefferson  was  elected  President ;  and  by  act 
of  December  9,  1803,  Congress  repealed  the  law  of  1800, 
throwing  the  credit  and  commerce  of  the  country  back 
upon  the  widely  varying,  inconsistent,  and  often  dis- 
honest legislation  of  the  several  States. 

Such  were  some  of  the  measures  of  internal  policy 
which  signalized  the  accession  of  the  Eepublican  [Demo- 
cratic] party  to  power  for  the  first  time,  in  1801.  Let 
us  now  consider  the  course  of  foreign  affairs  in  the  ear- 
lier part  of  Jefferson^s  administration.  Al-  The  Spanish 
though  by  the  heroic  enterprises  of  Ponce  de  power. 
Leon  and  Fernando  de  Soto,  the  Spaniards  were  the 
discoverers  of  both  the  Floridas  (East  and  West)  and  of 
13 


178 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


Louisiana;  and  although  the  organization  of  onr  gov- 
ernment found  that  power  in  possession  of  these  vast 
territories;,  the  Spanish  occupation  had  not  been  con- 
tinuous. France  had^  prior  to  the  close  of  the  Seven 
Years^  War^  1756-63^  asserted  and  maintained  her  claim 
to  Louisiana;  and  when  France  and  Spain,  the  con- 
quered in  that  struggle  of  giants,  came  to  make  terms 
with  victorious  England,  Spain  was  obliged  to  relin- 
quish the  Floridas  to  England,  while  France  indemni- 
fied her  ally  and  companion  in  misfortune  by  the  cession 
of  Louisiana.  England  was  not,  however,  long  to  be 
left  in  possession  of  her  conquests  at  the  South.  The 
close  of  the  Revolutionary  War,  1783,  found  her  glad  to 
accept  peace  on  less  favorable  terms  than  in  1763,  and 
Florida  returned  to  Spain.  The  same  treaty  bounded 
the  possessions  of  the  United  States  upon  the  west  by 
the  Mississippi  River.  We  have  already  referred  to  the 
difficulties  which  the  new  government  encountered  in 
dealing  with  Spain  respecting  the  navigation  of  the 
Mississippi  and  the  right  to  land  and  store  goods  at 
Xew  Orleans.  Undoubtedly  one  great  reason  for  the 
value  which  Spain,  and  afterward  France,  was  disposed 
to  put  upon  the  lower  Mississippi,  was  found  in  the  ex- 
pectation, not  extravagant  at  the  time,  that  a  confedera- 
tion would  yet  be  formed  in  the  great  valley,  the  patron 
and  protector  of  which  would  naturally  be  that  power 
which  could  give  or  withhold  access  to  the  sea.  To 
European  diplomatists  and  statesmen  the  Alleghenies 
appeared  a  barrier  to  sovereignty  not  easily  to  be  passed. 
By  Louisiana  is  here  to  be  understood  not  merely  the 
present  State  of  that  name,  but  the  vast  region  west  of 
the  Mississippi,  extending  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico 
northward  to  the  British  possessions,  westward  at  least 
as  far  as  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

In  1800,  by  a  secret  treaty,  Spain  ceded  back  to 


Jefferson's  first  term 


179 


France  the  Louisiana  which  she  had  received  from  her 
by  the  treaty  of  1763.  Rumors  of  this  negotiation  hav- 
ing reached  Washington,  our  ministers  at  Madrid  and 
Paris  were  instructed  to  oppose  the  cession  by  every 
argument  in  their  power.  The  French  government, 
however,  persistently  denied  the  fact  of  such  a  ces- 
sion for  more  than  a  year.  It  then  became  known  that 
an  expedition,  under  General  Victor,  was  fitting  out 
to  take  possession  of  the  province.  At  this  juncture 
President  Jefferson  appointed  Mr.  Monroe  to  be  an  as- 
sociate of  Mr.  Livingston,  our  minister  at  Paris,  and 
also,  if  necessary,  of  Mr.  Pinckney  at  Madrid.  The 
iiistructions  were  to  prevent  the  cession  of  the  Floridas 
and  of  New  Orleans.  But  before  Mr.  Monroe^s  arrival 
negotiations  of  a  surprising  character  were  begun,  which 
were  destined  to  end  these  difficulties  in  a  manner  alto- 
gether unexpected  and  with  consequences  the  most  tre- 
mendous. The  French  Minister  of  the  Treasury,  Mar- 
bois,  proposed  nothing  less  than  the  cession  of  Louisiana. 
Mr.  Livingston  was  not  prepared  for  such  a  ^  ^  ^  ^  ^ 
stroke  of  business  ;  but,  on  the  arrival  of  chase  of\ou- 
Mr.  Monroe,  the  vast  importance  of  the  set- 
tlement so  pressed  upon  the  ministers  of  the  United 
States  that  they  assumed  the  responsibility  of  transcend- 
ing their  instructions,  and  on  April  30,  1803,  concluded 
a  treaty  by  which  France  ceded  to  the  United  States  the  / 
whole  vast  territory  of  Louisiana,  forever  and  in  full 
sovereignty.^^  The  consideration  for  the  cession  was 
60,000,000  francs  and  the  relinquishment  of  debts  due 
by  France  to  citizens  of  the  United  States,  amounting 
to  about  fifteen  millions  more.  Napoleon^s  reasons  for 
thus  alienating  an  empire  can  only  be  conjectured.  Most 
probably  the  dominating  consideration  was  an  apprehen- 
sion that,  in  the  then  impending  war,  an  English  fleet 
;^ouId  seize  New  Orleans  and  thus  practically  control 


180 


THE  MAKIKG  OF  THE  NATION 


the  Mississippi  Valley.  Moreover,  it  is  to  be  said  that 
the  First  Consnrs  thoughts  were  at  this  period  almost 
wholly  engrossed  by  his  plans  of  conquest  and  glory  in 
the  Orient.  Egypt,  Constantinople,  and  India  had  be- 
come the  immediate  objects  of  his  high-soaring  ambi- 
tion. On  the  other  hand  was  the  possibility  that,  should 
he  cede  Louisiana  to  the  United  States,  it  might  become 
the  means  of  embroiling  us  with  England,  which  would 
give  him  a  new  ally.  Then  there  was  the  fact  of  a  large 
money  payment  to  be  made  at  once,  a  welcome  addition 
to  his  finances.  Finally,  we  are  not  to  forget  the  levity, 
petulance,  and  fickleness  which  mingled  so  strangely 
with  the  greatness  and  daring  of  Napoleon^s  mind. 

Although  the  treaty  was  contrary  to  the  instructions 
of  our  ministers,  and  also,  as  the  dominant  party  in  the 
Political  government  was  bound  to  believe,  contrary 
thf  LoSnf  to  the  Constitution,  yet,  in  view  of  the  su- 
purchase.  premc  importance  of  the  transaction,  it  was 
promptly  ratified  by  the  Senate  ;  and  the  necessary 
steps  taken  for  the  temporary  government  of  the  terri- 
tory, and  for  the  payment  of  the  consideration.  An  act 
of  1804  organized  the  Territory  of  Orleans  (the  present 
State  of  Louisiana)  and  the  District  of  Louisiana,  the 
latter  having  its  principal  settlement  at  St.  Louis.  It 
has  been  said  that  the  dominant  political  party  in  the 
government,  viz.,  the  Kepublican  party,  was  bound  to 
hold  this  acquisition  of  territory  unconstitutional.  Not 
only  can  no  authority  be  found  in  the  Constitution, 
through  any  exercise  of  a  strict  construction,  for  such 
an  acquisition  of  territory  without  the  consent  of  the 
States  parties  to  the  original  compact ;  but  the  palpable, 
necessary  consequences  of  this  acquisition,  through  its 
effect  upon  the  membership  of  the  Union  and  upon  the 

balance  of  power  within  the  government,  were  so 
overwhelming  as  to  amount  to  almost  a  revolution. 


Jefferson's  first  term 


181 


We  have  seen  that^  in  the  Convention  of  1787^  grave 
apprehensions  were  expressed  lest  the  States  to  be 
formed  from  the  territory  west  of  the  Alleghenies 
should,  in  time,  weigh  down  the  Atlantic  States  ;  and  it 
was  even  proposed  to  set  a  limit  to  the  total  number  of 
members  who  should  ever  be  admitted  to  Congress  from 
that  region.  Yet  here  was  a  new  territory,  of  a  million 
^square  miles,  which  did  not  belong  to  us  and  never  had 
belonged  to  us ;  which,  so  far  as  occupied  at  all,  was 
settled  by  other  races  than  our  own  ;  and  Mr.  Jefferson 
had  undertaken,  upon  his  own  motion  and  notion,  to 
say  that  this  vast  territory  should  become  a  part  of  the 
United  States  forever  ;  and  that  its  inhabitants  should 
be  incorporated  in  the  Union  of  the  United  States  and 
admitted  as  soon  as  possible,  according  to  the  principles 
of  the  Federal  Constitution,  to  the  enjoyment  of  all  the 
rights,  advantages,  and  immunities  of  citizens  of  the 
United  States.''^  If  we  look  at  the  usurpation  of  au- 
thority involved  in  framing  such  a  treaty,  it  may  fairly 
be  said  that  all  the  encroachments  which  had  been  in 
contemplation  by  any  member  of  the  Constitutional 
Convention,  as  to  be  apprehended  from  the  executive, 
were  child^s  play  in  comparison.  On  the  other  hand,  if 
we  look  at  the  practical  consequences  of  this  treaty,  as 
affecting  the  future  membership  of  the  Union,  as  threat- 
ening the  rights  and  powers  of  the  original  parties  *  to 
the  federal  compact,^^  and  as  bearing  upon  the  balance 
of  power  within  the  government,  we  shall  not  the  less 
admit  this  measure  to  have  been  of  an  absolutely  revo- 
lutionary character.  The  original  thirteen  States  com- 
prised about  half  a  million  square  miles ;  and  we  have 
seen  that  they  felt  grave  apprehensions  lest  their  rights 

*  John  Randolph  had  refused  to  vote  even  for  the  admission  of  Ohio 
on  the  ground  that  the  admission  of  a  new  party  without  the  consent  of 
the  original  members  constituted  an  infraction  of  the  compact  between 
the  States. 


182 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


and  proper  influence  should,  in  time,  be  overborne  in 
Congress  by  votes  from  the  trans- Appalachian  territory, 
The  Louis  ^"'^^^■'^  nearly  equal  extent.    Yet  here 

iana  purchase  we  havc  a  ucw  territory,  equal  to  both  halves 
revolutionary.  original  couutry,  brought  into  the 

Union  by  act  of  the  executive,  with  the  assent  of  a  Sen- 
ate not  especially  authorized  thereto,  without  any  par- 
ticipation in  the  matter  by  the  House  of  Eepresenta- 
tives,  and  without  any  reference  of  the  question  either 
to  the  States  or  to  the  people.  With  no  opportunity  to 
assent  or  to  object,  the  original  States  were  at  once  made 
to  become  only  one-quarter  part  of  the  Union,  if  we  take 
territory  as  the  measure.  And,  indeed,  we  have  al- 
ready, in  1895,  come  to  the  point  where  the  original 
thirteen  States  form  but  a  little  more  than  a  quarter  of 
the  actual  number  of  constituent  members.  If  the 
Union  was,  indeed,  as  according  to  the  States-rights^  doc- 
trine, merely  a  federal  compact,  then  we  must  say  that 
the  cession  and  acceptance  of  Louisiana  constituted  not 
less  than  a  revolution.  This,  too,  was  a  revolution  in 
the  direction  of  centralization  and  the  impairment  of  the 
powers  of  the  original  States,  brought  about  by  the  very 
party  which  had  undertaken  to  maintain  the  principle 
of  strict  construction  and  to  provide  the  needed  opposi- 
tion to  inevitable  tendencies  toward  encroachment  on 
the  part  of  the  general  government. 

In  the  last  clause  is  found  the  chief  significance  of 
that  momentous  transaction.  It  was  the  States^  rights 
party  which  had  done  this  imperial  act.  It  was  the  very 
founder  of  that  party  who  had  put  his  hand  to  what  he 
admitted  was  an  extra-constitutional,  if  not  unconstitu- 
tional, measure,*  for  the  purpose  of  aggrandizing  the  na- 

*  Mr.  Jefferson  said,  "  The  Executive  has  done  an  act  beyond  the  Con- 
stitution. The  Legislature  must  ratify  it  and  throw  themselves  upon 
the  country  for  an  act  of  indemnity."    In  further  urging  this  view  upon 


Jefferson's  first  term 


183 


tion  beyond  what  had  been  conceived  by  the  most  san- 
guine. There  had  been  two  parties  to  the  interpre- 
tation of  the  Constitution.  One  consistently  declared 
that  that  instmment  created  a  nation  from  which  its 
members  could  not  secede  ;  a  nation  which  was  com- 
petent to  determine  all  matters  of  common  concern 
through  its  own  judiciary,  executive,  and  legislature  ; 
which  was  sovereign  in  its  sphere.  This  party  had  uni- 
formly asserted  that  the  revenues  should  be  ample ;  that 
there  should  be  an  adequate  army  to  enforce  the  laws  ; 
that  the  dignity  and  authority  of  the  general  govern- 
ment should  be  magnified  and  extended  just  so  far  and 
just  so  fast  as  the  common  good  might  require.  The 
other  party  had  uniformly  maintained  the  idea  of  a  fed- 
eral compact ;  of  a  strict  construction  of  the  powers  given 
to  the  general  government ;  of  holding  the  revenues  and 
the  agencies  of  that  government  down  to  its  absolutely 
necessary  uses.  This  latter  party,  under  the  immense 
temptation  offered  by  Bonaparte,  had  surrendered  its 
principles  ;  had  committed  an  imperial  act  The  Repub- 
of  far-reaching  and  permanent  consequences ;  surrender^  the 
had  overwhelmed  the  original  States  by  the  gj^n^ct^con- 
certain  future  access  of  an  indefinite  number  etmction. 
of  new  members,  all  of  them  possible  rivals  and  competi- 
tors, perhaps  unfriendly,  perhaps  hostile  ;  had  magni- 
fied the  Union  vastly  beyond  what  had  been  in  contem- 
plation only  sixteen  years  before.  The  influence  of  this 
surrender  of  the  federal,  as  distinguished  from  the  na- 
tional principle,  by  the  only  party  which  had  under- 
taken to  maintain  it,  upon  the  subsequent  course  of  our 
constitutional  history,  cannot  be  estimated.    The  Ee- 

his  supporters  he  said  :  Our  peculiar  security  is  in  the  possession  of  a 
written  Constitution.  Let  us  not  make  it  a  blank  paper  by  construc- 
tion." Yet,  after  saying  so  much,  Mr.  Jefferson  finally  acquiesced  in 
allowing  the  Louisiana  purchase  to  pass  as  done  solely  by  himself  and  a 
^ore,  or  so,  of  senators. 


184  THE  MAKIIS'G  OF  THE  NATIOIST 


publican  party  never  did  and  never  could  get  back  to  its 
original  position  as  the  advocate  of  a  strict  construction. 
,  However  its  statesmen  might  declaim  about  the  original 
compact,  whatever  Kepublican  conventions  might  de- 
clare, the  great  empire  beyond  the  Mississippi  was  to 
stand  forever  as  a  contradiction  of  their  theories.  There- 
after no  man  could,  in  the  country-store,  around  the 
post-office  stove,  on  the  court-house  steps,  at  the  county 
fair,  or  upon  the  road,  advance  the  compact  theory 
of  the  government,  without  being  liable  to  have  the 
Louisiana  purchase  thrown  in  his  face.  No  human  in- 
genuity could  twist  this  act  so  as  to  make  it  fit  into  the 
States^  rights  doctrine.  Looking  at  it  in  its  relations 
to  the  development  of  American  nationality,  we  do  not 
hesitate  to  say  that  the  purchase  of  Louisiana  was  an 
act  second  in  our  history  only  to  the  adoption  by  the 
Constitutional  Convention  of  Kandolph^s  resolution  : 
That  the  government  of  the  United  States  ought  to 
consist  of  a  supreme  legislative,  judiciary,  and  execu- 
tive." 

There  was  one  ultimate  consequence  of  the  purchase 
of  Louisiana  which  requires  to  be  noted  at  this  point. 
Influence  of  ^^^^S^  ^^LC  full  effect  of  it  was  uot  f or  some 
the  Louisiana  time  to  be  made  manifest,  and  the  considera- 
purchase^^o^n  ^.^^  .^^  influence  upon  the  politics  of  the 
question.  United  States  falls  within  the  province  of 
my  successor  in  this  series.  That  was  the  enormous  im- 
pulse thereby  given  to  the  domestic  trade  in  slaves. 
The  opening  of  the  vast  region  beyond  the  Mississippi, 
to  be  settled  under  the  laws  and  the  protection  of  the 
Union,  was  destined  to  create  a  demand  for  negro  labor, 
to  cultivate  the  cotton-fields  of  Louisiana,  Arkansas,  and 
southeastern  Missouri,  which  should  long  make  slave- 
holding  profitable  in  Virginia  and  Kentucky. 

The  French  cession  of  Louisiana  did  not,  however, 


Jefferson's  first  term 


185 


conclude  our  difficulties  respecting  the  navigation  of  the 
Mississippi.  Spain  was  equally  surprised  and  disappoint- 
ed at  the  use  made  by  France  of  her  cession  Difficulties 
of  1800.  To  cede  the  territory  to  France,  with  Spain, 
'her  ally,  was  one  thing  ;  to  have  it  ceded  to  the  United 
States,  a  power  already  so  great  as  to  threaten  the  se- 
curity of  the  Floridas  and  the  West  Indies,  was  quite  a 
different  thing.  Only  reluctantly  did  Spain  withdraw 
her  objections  to  the  cession;*  while  the  transaction 
was  undoubtedly  the  cause  of  her  long  delaying  the  rati- 
fication of  a  treaty  which  she  had  concluded  with  the 
United  States  in  1802,  providing  for  the  adjustment  of 
claims  for  spoliations  upon  our  commerce.  Nor  did  the 
assent  of  Spain  to  the  acquisition  of  Louisiana  determine 
the  vexed  question  of  boundary.  By  a  diplomatic  com- 
plication which  we  need  not  take  time  to  narrate,  the 
line  between  the  Louisiana  ceded  to  France  and  by 
France  to  the  United  States,  and  the  Florida  retained 
by  Spain,  was  in  dispute.  Spain  claimed  that  her  ter- 
ritory extended  to  the  Mississippi  and  Lakes  Pontchar- 
train  and  Borgue,  while  the  United  States  claimed  east- 
ward to  the  river  Perdido.  This  question  was  left  to  be 
settled  later,  partly  by  force  of  arms,  partly  by  negotia- 
tion ;  but  meanwhile  the  United  States  had  to  complain 
of  the  conduct  of  Spanish  cruisers,  which  infested  our 
southern  coasts  and  harassed  our  trade  with  the  West 
Indies.  In  1806,  at  the  dictation  of  Napoleon,  rein- 
forced by  the  eager  demands  of  the  slave-holding  States, 
which  feared  the  influence  of  a  successful  slave-insurrec- 

*  Spain  having  ceded  the  territory  to  France  on  the  express  stipulation 
that  that  power  should  not  transfer  it  to  any  other,  some  were  at  first 
disposed  to  hold  that  the  cession  to  us  was  not  valid  without  the  consent 
of  Spain.  But  our  government  very  properly  took  the  position  that  the 
matter  of  such  a  stipulation  was  w^holly  a  question  between  Spain  and 
France,  and  could  not  affect  our  rights.  This  was  sound  reasoning 
enough,  but  did  not  dispose  of  the  possibility  that  Spain  might  attempt 
to  prevent  our  acquiring  the  territory. 


186 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION" 


tion^  Congress  passed  an  act  prohibiting  trade  with  the 
revolted  blacks  of  San  Domingo.  This  measure  was 
really  a  part  of  the  negotiation  with  France  and  Spain 
regarding  the  interests  of  the  latter  power. 
^  In  1803^  Rnfus  King,  our  minister  at  London,  con- 
cluded a  treaty  which  adjusted  the  boundary  line  be- 
Boundary  ^^^^^  Countries.    The  Senate,  how- 

between  the  evcr,  in  its  ratification,  excepted  one  article  : 

United  States        ^  ^  ^  ' 

and  Great  Brit-  and  the  amended  treaty  was  sent  back  to 
London  for  concurrence.  Great  Britain 
failed  to  give  her  assent  to  the  amendment,  and  the 
treaty  failed,  the  question  being  left  to  long  and  angry 
negotiations  to  take  place  one  and  two  generations  later, 
when  the  United  States  should  be  grown  stronger  and 
better  able  to  enforce  its  claims. 

We  have  already  alluded  to  the  tribute  exacted  by  the 
Barbary  powers,  as  the  condition  upon  which  they  con- 
contestwith  ^^^^^^  permit  the  navigation  of  the  Med- 
the  Barbary  itcrrauean  by  American  vessels.  The  inso- 
lence of  these  licensed  pirates  only  grew  by 
indulgence.  When  Captain  Bainbridge,  of  our  navy, 
in  1800,  bore  to  Algiers  the  stipulated  tribute  for  that 
year,  the  Dey  actually  compelled  him  to  carry  despatches 
to  the  Sultan  of  Constantinople.  Tripoli  and  Tunis 
also  made  outrageous  demands,  accompanied  by  threats. 
But  the  growing  sense  of  American  nationality  would 
not  allow  this  humiliating  state  of  things  to  continue. 
Mr.  Jefferson  was  not  much  of  a  fighting  man  ;  but  on 
this  occasion  he  acted  with  decision.  Commodore  Dale 
was  sent  to  the  Mediterranean  with  a  small  fleet ;  and 
by  his  energetic  demonstrations,  which  included  the 
capture  of  one  Tripolitan  cruiser,  for  a  time  overawed 
the  piratical  governments.  Tripoli,  however,  renewing 
her  acts  of  outrage.  Congress  recognized  a  state  of  war 
as  existing,  and  the  Mediterranean  fleet  was  reinforced. 


Jefferson's  fikst  term 


187 


In  the  summer  of  1803  several  of  the  enemy ^s  cruisers 
were  captured  or  destroyed.  This  display  of  energy, 
followed  by  the  arrival  of  additional  vessels,  under 
Commodore  Preble,  sufficed  to  keep  the  other  Barbary 
states  out  of  the  contest,  for  which  they  had  been  han- 
kering, and  left  Tripoli  to  be  dealt  with  alone.  Unfort- 
unately, the  frigate  Philadelphia,  under  Bainbridge, 
while  pursuing  a  ship  of  the  enemy,  ran  upon  a  rock 
and  was  captured.  The  vessel  was  set  on  fire  in  the 
most  gallant  manner  by  Lieutenant,  afterward  Commo- 
dore, Decatur  ;  but  her  crew  were  still  held  as  slaves. 
The  war  now  having  become  a  serious  affair,  the  Medi- 
terranean fleet  was  further  reinforced,  and  Commodore 
Barron  was  sent  out  to  take  command.  The  town  of 
Tripoli  was  invested  and  bombarded,  and  the  hostile 
cruisers  were  driven  in  or  destroyed  ;  but  the  enemy 
kept  Bainbridge  and  his  men  prisoners.  At  last,  in 
June,  1805,  a  treaty  of  peace  was  framed,  which  pro- 
vided for  the  restoration  of  the  captives  and  for  the  rec- 
ognition of  our  rights  in  the  Mediterranean.  The  spir- 
ited action  of  the  United  States  in  respect  to  Tripoli 
not  only  served  to  deter  the  other  Barbary  powers, 
but  became  an  example  to  the  European  states,  which 
did  not  much  longer  submit  to  blackmail  from  that 
source. 

Let  us  now  consider  the  cabinet,  the  movement  of 
parties,  and  the  fifth  presidential  election.  Mr.  Jeffer- 
son had  originally  selected  his  cabinet  as  Jefferson's 
follows  :  Ja^ies^^adison,  of  Virginia,  Seqre-  the  movement 
iSILilt-^Mi  '  Henry  D^aoiiam.  of  Massa-  of  parties, 
chusetts.  Secretary  of  War  ;  Levi  Lmc^n,  of  Massachu- 
setts, Mti^r^i^Qm^^'  Dexter  and  Stoddert  were  for 
a  short  time  continued  in  office,  after  which  Albert 
Gallatin  became  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  and  Robert 
Smith,  Secretary  of  the  Navy.    Joseph  Habersham,  of 


188 


THE  MAKIIS^G  OF  THE  NATION 


Georgia,  who  had  been  appointed  Postmaster-General  in 
1795,  was  for  a  few  months  continued  in  office.  He 
was  then  succeeded  by  Gideon  Granger,  of  Connecticut. 
The  head  of  the  Post-office  Department,  however,  was 
not  called  into  the  cabinet  until  the  administration  of 
General  Jackson.  The  National  Intelligencer,  so  long 
famous  in  the  history  of  our  politics,  was  started  in  Mr. 
Jefferson^s  administration,  as  the  official  organ  of  the 
government.  The  popular  revulsion  from  the  Federalist 
principles  of  the  late  administration  continued  in  full 
force,  reducing  the  party  which  had  represented  them 
to  a  state  of  extreme  weakness.  That  this  was  in  a  de- 
gree due  to  the  increasing  insolence  of  England,  and 
not  wholly  to  the  acts  and  principles  of  the  Federalists 
themselves,  is  most  probable.  England,  with  her  gigan- 
tic naval  power,  was  again  looming  up  on  the  national 
horizon  as  our  great  natural  enemy.  The  steady 
gains  of  the  Kepublicans  were,  also,  in  no  small  measure, 
due  to  the  popularity  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  whose  easy  man- 
ners, whose  philosophical  habit  of  mind,  whose  opti- 
mistic way  of  looking  at  public  affairs,  and  whose  un- 
questioning confidence  in  the  integrity,  honesty,  and 
patriotism  of  the  masses,  just  suited  the  American 
people.  State  after  State,  traditionally  Federalist,  came 
over  to  the  support  of  the  administration  in  its  first 
year.  In  1804  the  usual  party  nominations  were  made 
Jefferson's  re-        the  approaching  presidential  election. 

eiecUon.  Burr,  having  entirely  fallen  out  of  the  con- 
fidence and  sympathy  of  his  party,  was  dropped  ;  and 
George  Clinton,  of  New  York,  was  substituted  as  the 
candidate  for  Vice-President.  Charles  C.  Pinckney  and 
Rufus  King  were  nominated  by  the  Federalists.  They 
received,  however,  only  14  votes — 9  from  Connecticut, 
3  from  Delaware,  and  2  (out  of  11)  from  Maryland. 
Jefferson  and  Clinton  received  164  votes  each,  and  were 


Jefferson's  first  term 


189 


overwhelmingly  elected.  Even  Massachusetts  cast  her 
votes  for  Jefferson. 

But  we  cannot  close  this  account  of  Jefferson^s  first 
term  without  alluding  to  a  tragedy  of  which  only  a  faint 
shadow  has  been  thrown  over  the  generation  in  which 
we  live  ;  but  which  to  our  fathers  was  scarcely  less  im- 
pressive and  terrible  than  many  of  us  remember  the 
murder  of  Lincoln  to  have  been  in  our  day.  Aaron 
Burr,  cast  off  by  his  party,  took  his  broken  fortunes 
and  his  bad  name  to  the  Federalists  of  New  York,  who 
nominated  him  for  Governor  in  1804.  Defeated  by  the 
bitter  opposition  of  many  of  the  party  which  had 
adopted  him,  chief  among  them  Hamilton,  who  had  re- 
turned to  the  practice  of  law  in  New  York  City,  and 
goaded  to  fury  by  attacks  upon  his  life  and  character, 
he  challenged  Hamilton  to  mortal  combat.  The  an- 
tagonists met  at  Weehawken,  on  July  11th,  Hamilton's 
and  Hamilton  received  a  wound  of  which  he 
died  the  next  day.  Thus  perished,  at  the  age  of  forty- 
seven,  in  the  prime  of  his  powers,  a  statesman  whose 
name  has  been  held  second  to  none,  in  point  of  ability, 
among  those  who  framed  the  Constitution  and  inaugu- 
rated the  Union.  His  rival  and  murderer  dragged  out 
his  dishonored  life,  by  reason  of  strength/^  to  four- 
score years. 


CHAPTER  X 


JEFFERSON'S  SECOND  TERM 

Foreign  Affairs — English  and  French  Outrages — The  Right  of 
Search — Insolently  Exercised  by  British  Cruisers — Impress- 
ment of  American  Seamen — The  Affair  of  the  Chesapeake — 
Contraband  of  War" — Right  of  Blockade — England  and 
France  Compete  in  Injuries  to  our  Commerce — England  Sets 
up  the  *'Rule  of  1756  "—The  British  Blockades— Napoleon 
Retaliates  upon  the  "Orders  in  Council"  with  His  Berlin 
and  Milan  Decrees — The  Bayonne  Decree— The  Monroe  Treaty 
with  England — Jefferson  Refuses  to  send  it  to  the  Senate — Jef- 
ferson's Proclamation  Ordering  British  Men-of-War  out  of 
American  Waters — The  Non-Importation  Act — The  Embargo 
— Resentment  of  the  Commercial  States— Mr.  Jefferson  Hostile 
to  the  Carrying  Trade  and  to  General  Commerce — The  Em- 
bargo Breaks  Down — Troubles  with  Spain — Proposed  Purchase 
of  Florida— Measures  of  National  Defence— Jefferson's  Mos- 
quito Fleet " — The  Cumberland  Road — The  Policy  of  Internal 
Improvements — Fulton's  Steamboat — Trial  of  Aaron  Burr  for 
Treason — Burr's  Designs — The  Finances  under  President  Jef- 
ferson— Abolition  of  the  Slave  Trade  in  1808 — Anti-Slavery 
Agitation — Lewis  and  Clarke's  Expedition — Cabinet  Changes 
— Mr.  Jefferson  Refuses  a  Re-nomination — The  Sixth  Presiden- 
tial Election — No  longer  the  Vice-President  Succeeds ;  It  is 
Now  the  Secretary  of  State — James  Madison  of  Virginia  Nom- 
inated— His  Services  to  his  Party  and  to  the  Country. 

Foreign  affairs  demand  our  first  attention.  The  re- 
inauguration  of  Jefferson,  March  4,  1805,  found  the  sky- 
Foreign  af-  black  with  coming  war.  Great  Britain  and 
fairs.  Prance  were  engaged  in  their  deadly  grapple. 
Napoleon  was  sweeping  all  before  him  on  the  continent 
of  Europe  ;  England  dominated  the  seas  with  a  resist- 


Jefferson's  second  term  191 


less  sway.  Neither,  in  such  a  contest,  could  be  ex- 
pected to  show  much  consideration  for  the  young  repub- 
lic. Contempt  for  the  rights  of  the  United  States  and 
for  the  laws  of  neutral  trade  characterized  the  acts  of 
both  combatants.  England,  however,  as  the  great  naval 
power,  was  in  the  position  to  do  us  the  deeper  wrong. 

It  was  stated  in  connection  with  the  notice  of  the  Jay 
treaty  that  England  reserved  the  question  of  the  right 
of  search  and  impressment,  and  maintained  English  and 
the  riffor  of  its  commercial  system.     The  French  out- 

°  rages. 

time  had  come  when  these  questions  were  of 
supreme  importance.  The  necessities  of  England^s  naval 
warfare  would  not  allow  the  right  of  impressment  to  re- 
main a  right  unexercised  ;  while,  with  the  steady  prog- 
ress of  the  arms  of  Napoleon  on  the  continent,  the 
occasion  for  starving  France  and  choking  her  off  from 
the  trade  of  the  world  became  imperative.  It  is  scarcely 
possible  to  say  which  of  the  two  forms  of  injury  adopted 
by  England  more  roused  and  exasperated  the  United 
States.  The  right  of  search,^"  with  wanton  impress- 
ment of  American  seamen,  was  not  only  exercised  on  the 
largest  scale  against  our  merchant  marine,  and  that,  too, 
with  the  greatest  insolence  and  brutality  ;  but  the  arro- 
gance of  England  went  to  the  astonishing  extent  of 
stopping  armed  vessels  upon  the  seas,  searching  them 
against  the  protests  of  their  officers,  and  taking  from 
them  all  persons  whom  the  British  commander,  in 
greater  or  less  straits  for  men  to  work  his  vessel,  might 
choose  to  regard  as  British  subjects. 

Of  the  right  of  search,  a  few  words  :  The  right  of 
search  exists.    This  is  not  questioned.    What  are  its 
limits  and  conditions  ?    No  right  of  search  tj^^  ^^g^^ 
exists  as  against  the  national  vessels  of  recog-  search, 
nized  powers.    Toward  merchant  vessels,  of  whatever 
name  and  nationality,  the  right  of  search  exists,  but  for 


192 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  I^ATIOK 


two  purposes  only.  For  determining  whether  the  vessel 
searched  is  a  pirate,  i.e.,  is  making  war  upon  all  na- 
tions ;  and  secondly,  for  determining  whether  that  ves- 
sel is  engaged  unlawfully  in  assisting  the  enemies  of  the 
power  to  which  the  vessel  conducting  the  search  belongs, 
by  carrying  contraband  of  war The  right  of  search 
does  not  exist  for  the  purpose  of  recovering  escaped  sea- 
men. ^TVIuch  less  could  it  be  said  to  exist  for  the  pur- 
pose of  exercising  impressment  upon  persons  who  had 
never  entered  the  service  of  the  power  exercising  the 
search.  But  while  the  right  of  search  for  such  objects 
exists,  yet,  being  a  right  to  be  exercised  only  in  exception 
to  the  general  exercise  of  a  contrary  right  in  all  vessels 
to  pursue  their  course  unmolested,  search  much  be  iona 
fide,  that  is,  upon  reasonable  ground  of  suspicion  ;  must 
be  carefully  conducted  within  the  limits  of  the  necessity 
which  alone  justifies  it  at  all  ;  and  must  be  free  from  dis- 
courtesy or  unnecessary  violence.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
the  British  men-of-war  exercised  this  right  unnecessarily, 
insolently,  and  violently.  That  they  did  so  was  partly 
due  to  the  traditions  of  the  British  naval  service,  which 
had  erected  arrogance  and  brutality  into  a  virtue.  It 
was  perhaps  in  greater  part  due  to  the  special  exigencies 
of  that  service  at  this  time,  which  were  so  great  as  to 
lead  naval  officers  to  break  all  bounds  of  law  and  justice, 
even  in  dealing  with  their  own  countrymen  at  home. 
Press-gangs  swept  at  night  through  the  streets  of  Eng- 
lish seaports,  carrying  away  their  helpless  victims  ;  and 
naval  officers  dared  to  say  in  Parliament  that  no  British 
ship-of-war  should  put  to  sea  undermanned,  whatever 
had  to  be  done  to  secure  her  proper  complement.  Under 
such  circumstances  it  can  hardly  be  wondered  at  that, 
as  against  foreigners  whom  they  still  continued  to  regard 
as  rebels,  the  bullies  of  the  quarterdeck  hesitated  not  to 
resort  to  any  measure  of  violence  to  fill  up  their  depleted 


Jefferson's  second  term 


193 


crews.  Outrageous  as  was  the  quality  of  the  wrong  in- 
flicted by  England  through  the  exercise  of  impressment 
upon  our  helpless  merchant  marine,  the  quantity  of  that 
wrong  was  something  monstrous.  Six  thousand  of  our 
seamen  were  alleged  to  have  been,  first  or  last,  seized  by 
British  cruisers,  while  the  number  certainly  exceeded 
four  thousand.  British  frigates  were  kept  permanently 
^^on  station  off  the  port  of  New  York,  for  the  purpose 
of  recruiting  their  fleets  by  these  captures. 

Allusion  has  been  made  to  search  and  impressment  as 
conducted  against  our  national  vessels.  Incredible  as 
this  may  seem,  it  was  actually  done.  In  1798,  the  com- 
mander of  an  American  ship,  the  Baltimore,  was  com- 
pelled to  send  a  large  number  of  his  crew  on  to  the  deck 
of  a  British  cruiser,  that  they  might  there  be  inspected 
as  to  their  nationality.  Of  these  the  British  commander 
picked  out  five  as  subjects  of  the  king,  and  returned 
the  others.  This  outrage  was  vehemently  resented  by 
President  Adams,  and  the  British  government  disavowed 
the  act.  In  1805,  however.  Admiral  Collingwood  took 
three  men  from  an  American  gunboat,  off  Cadiz  ;  and 
this  time  the  act  was  not  disavowed.  But  the  climax  of 
insolent  aggression  was  reached  on  June  22,  1807,  when 
the  British  frigate  Leopard  overhauled  the  frigate  Ches- 
apeake, putting  out  to  sea  from  Hampton  Eoads,  under 
command  of  Commodore  Barron  ;  and,  after  receiving  a 
refusal  to  surrender  three  seamen,  alleged  to  be  deserters 
from  the  British  navy,  opened  fire.  The  American  ship 
was  of  inferior  strength,  and  was,  moreover,  utterly  and 
culpably  unprepared  for  action,  unable  to  discharge  a 
single  one  of  its  guns.  Barron  was,  therefore,  after  sus- 
taining considerable  loss,  compelled  to  strike  his  flag  and 
surrender  the  seamen.  The  last  outrage  which  has  been 
recited  aroused  the  country  to  fury  ;  and  for  a  time  an 
outbreak  seemed  inevitable.  Men  wore  crape  for  the 
13 


194 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


(lead  of  the  Chesapeake,  as  for  personal  friends,  and  a 
cry  for  war  came  from  every  quarter.       This  country/^ 
The  affair  ^^^^^         Jeffcrson,      has  never  been  in 
of  the  chesa-  gnch  a  statc  of  excitement  since  the  battle  of 

peake. 

Lexington/'  Preparations  for  the  contest 
were  at  once  begun  ;  but  years  were  to  pass  before  the 
dastardly  act  of  Hampton  Roads  should  be  avenged. 

While  the  insult  to  our  national  dignity  through'  the 
exercise  of  impressment  was  so  great,  the  practical  wrong 
done  us  by  the  measures  relating  to  neutral  trade  which 
were  adopted  in  swift  succession  by  England  and  France, 
was  not  less  difficult  to  be  endured.  Let  us  here  state 
briefly  and  simply  two  principles  of  international  law 
relating  to  neutral  trade,  avoiding  all  discussion  of  the 
difficult  question  what  shall  be  done  with  the  goods  of 
a  neutral  found  in  an  enemy's  ship,  or  with  the  goods 
of  an  enemy  found  in  a  neutral's  ship  :  First,  a  certain 
line  of  articles,  not  to  be  defined  without  dispute  (the 
definition,  indeed,  depending  in  a  degree  upon  subsist- 
ing treaties  ;  depending,  also,  in  a  degree,  upon  existing 
circumstances),  yet  having  certain  generally  recognized 
"Contra-  bounds,  are  contraband  of  war  and,  if 
and^theTfgh't  destined  to  an  enemy's  ports,  may  be  capt- 
of  blockade,  ured  in  vessels  to  whomsoever  belonging. 
Secondly,  a  nation  at  war  may  lay  under  blockade  " 
the  ports  of  its  enemy,  just  so  far  as  it  has  the  power 
substantially  to  close  such  ports  against  ingress  and 
egress,  and  to  render  it  clearly  and  highly  dangerous 
for  vessels  to  try  to  enter.  Doing  this,  it  may  give 
public  notice  of  blockade  ;  and  all  vessels  thereafter 
tending  to  such  ports,  or  found  in  suspicious  proximity 
thereto,  are  liable  to  seizure.  If  convicted  of  attempt- 
ing to  run  the  blockade,"  vessel  and  cargo  are  forfeit, 
and  passengers  and  crew  are  subject  to  detention  and 
annoyance  without  just  cause  of  complaint.    A  notice 


Jefferson's  second  term 


195 


of  blockade,  unaccompanied  by  an  actual  naval  force 
off  the  blockaded  port,  competent  to  support  it,  consti- 
tutes of  itself  an  imposition  and  a  wrong. 

The  things  which  have  been  recited  are  all,  absolutely 
all,  which  a  nation  at  war  may  do  to  hinder  undoubted 
and  unmixed  neutral  trade.  Subject  to  these  restric- 
tions the  nations  which  choose  to  remain  at  peace  may 
continue  their  industry  and  commerce  unharmed,  un- 
hindered. But  in  the  time  we  are  considering,  England 
was  held  by  our  statesmen  to  encroach  grievously  upon 
the  rights  of  neutral  trade  in  two  important  respects. 
First,  she  had  attempted  to  establish  a  rule,  most  preju- 
dicial to  neutral  rights  and  American  interests,  known 
as  the  Kule  of  1756,  namely,  that  a  trade  from  a  colony 
to  its  parent  country,  not  permitted  to  other  nations  in 
time  of  peace,  cannot  be  made  lawful  in  time  of  war. 
This  rule  was  contrary,  not  only  to  the  law  of  nations, 
but  to  England^s  own  practice.  Secondly,  England 
was  charged  with  abusing  the  privilege  of  blockade. 
By  Orders  in  Council,  August,  1804,  she  The  British 
declared  all  ports,  from  Ostend  to  the  Seine,  blockades, 
in  a  state  of  rigorous  blockade  ;  and  in  May,  1806,  our 
government  was  notified  that  measures  had  been  di- 
rected to  be  taken  for  the  blockade  of  the  coasts,  rivers, 
and  ports,  from  the  river  Elbe  to  Brest.  The  latter 
blockade  our  government  insisted  as  regarding  a 
paper  blockade, that  is,  one  not  supported  by  a  suffi- 
cient force  to  preserve  continuously  the  state  of  things 
described  above  as  the  proper  condition  of  a  blockade. 

But  we  were  not  to  suffer  wrong  from  England  alone. 
In  November,  1806,  Napoleon  retorted  upon  England 
with  the  Berlin  decree,  which  declared  the  British  Isl- 
ands in  a  state  of  blockade  and  prohibited  all  commerce 
and  correspondence  with  them.  This  was  so  outrageous 
as  to  be  positively  funny.    At  the  time,  a  French  man- 


196 


THE  MAKIJSTG  OF  THE  NATION 


of- war  could  not  have  been  insured,  for  ninety  per  cent, 
of  its  value,  to  go  over-night  within  ten  miles  of  the 
British  coast.  The  Berlin  decree  was  answered  by  Or- 
ders in  Council,  of  January  7,  1807,  known  as  Lord 
Howick^s  Orders,  subsequently  superseded  or  merged  in 
Orders  of  November  11th,  known  as  Percival's  Orders, 
by  which  all  ports  and  places  belonging  to  France  and 
her  allies  from  which  the  British  flag  was  excluded,  and 
all  colonies  of  his  Britannic  majesty^s  enemies,  were  de- 
clared in  a  state  of  blockade.  All  trade  in  the  produce 
or  manufactures  of  those  countries  or  colonies  was  pro- 
hibited ;  and  all  vessels  trading  to  or  from  them,  and 
all  merchandise  on  board,  were  made  subject  to  capture 
and  condemnation  ;  with  an  exception  only  in  favor  of 
direct  trade  between  neutral  countries  and  the  colonies 
France  and  ^^^^  majesty^s  enemies.  To  this  France 
England  com-  replied  with  the  Milan  decree,  December, 
to  the  United  1807,  which  declared  every  ship,  whatever 
its  nationality  and  whatever  its  cargo,  sailing 
from  the  ports  of  England  or  of  her  colonies,  or  of  coun- 
tries occupied  by  British  troops,  and  proceeding  to  Eng- 
land or  to  her  colonies,  or  to  countries  occupied  by  the 
English,  to  be  good  prize.  And  every  ship,  of  whatever 
nation,  which  had  submitted  to  search  by  an  English 
ship,  or  had  made  a  voyage  to  England,  or  had  paid 
any  tax  to  that  government,  was  declared  denationalized 
and  lawful  prize.  It  has  by  some  been  alleged  that  the 
French  people,  while  exceedingly  witty,  are  destitute 
of  humor  ;  and  certainly  the  Berlin  and  Milan  decrees 
afford  a  striking  corroboration  of  this  view.  The  claim 
of  England  that  such  extensive  blockade  as  was  ex- 
pressed in  her  Orders  of  Council  was  or  could  be  made 
effectual,  was  never  admitted  by  our  government  or  by 
other  neutral  powers  ;  but  the  declaration  by  France  of 
blockade,  not  only  of  the  British  Islands,  but  of  British 


JEFFERSON'S  SECOND  TERM 


197 


colonies  and  of  all  countries  occupied  by  British  troops, 
exceeds  anything  seen  upon  the  stage  in  opera  boufle. 
In  April,  1808,  Napoleon  issued  the  decree  of  Bayonne, 
which  directed  all  American  vessels  entering  the  ports 
of  France,  Italy,  or  the  Hanse  towns,  to  be  seized  and 
condemned.  The  recital  of  the  successive  decrees,  is- 
sued in  retaliation  by  the  French  and  English  govern- 
ments, shows  those  two  powerful  nations  eagerly  com- 
peting with  each  other  in  outrages  upon  neutral 
commerce.  The  struggle  between  them  had  become 
one  of  life  and  death  ;  and  no  consideration  of  neutral 
rights  was  for  a  moment  allowed  by  either  to  give  the 
slightest  additional  chance  of  success  to  the  other.  Be- 
tween these  two  giants,  in  their  death-grapple,  the  young 
republic  was  in  great  danger  of  being  crushed  ;  and 
was  certain,  at  the  best,  to  be  sorely  crowded  and  hus- 
tled, to  the  great  impairment  of  its  dignity  and  with 
much  loss  of  its  legitimate  trade. 

Through  all  this  course  of  outrage  what  did  the 
United  States  do  ?  In  May,  1806,  James  Monroe,  of 
Virginia,  and  William  Pinkney,  of  Maryland,  rpj^  ^  Monroe 
were  associated  as  envoys  to  Great  Britain  ;  treaty, 
and  on  December  31st  concluded  a  treaty.  By  this 
treaty  England  did  not  relin^^  right  of  search 

and  impressment ;  but  the  treaty  was  accompanied  by 
assurances  to  our  ministers  that,  while  Great  Britain 
did  not  feel  able  to  relinquish  this  right  in  the  existing 
situation  of  Europe,  yet  the  practice  would  be  essen- 
tially if  not  completely  abandoned,  so  much  so  that  the 
United  States  would  be  in  fact  as  secure  against  impress- 
ment as  if  these  had  been  formally  given  up.  This 
treaty  Mr.  Jefferson  did  not  even  submit  to  the  Senate, 
regarding  it  as  unworthy  of  the  United  States.  His 
course  in  this  respect  caused  great  public  dissatisfaction 
on  grounds  both  of  constitutionality  and  expediency. 


198 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


Of  the  policy  of  ratifying  this  treaty  dilferent  opinions 
might  reasonably  be  held.  On  the  one  side  it  might  be 
said  that  we  had  had  treaties  enough  with  England 
which  reserved  the  great  questions  at  issue  between  that 
power  and  ourselves^  leaving  her  still  at  liberty  to  pur- 
sue her  course  of  outrage  and  insult.  On  the  other  side 
it  was  said  that  the  United  States  sacrificed  none  of  its 
claims  by  the  treaty  ;  that  those  claims  could  onl3r  be 
enforced  by  war  ;  and  that  the  United  States  was  not  in 
a  condition  to  go  to  war.  But^  if  the  United  States  did 
not  propose  to  make  its  claims  good  by  arms^  wisdom  re- 
quired that  the  state  of  peace  should  be  made  as  toler- 
able as  possible.  Moreover^  it  was  urged  with  some  rea- 
son that  the  wrongs  done  by  Great  Britain  were  to  be 
looked  at  in  a  different  light  from  what  they  would  have 
been  had  Great  Britain  taken  its  course  gratuitously  and 
under  ordinary  circumstances.  Great  Britain  had  no 
wish  to  distress  or  insult  us.  The  acts  we  complained 
of  were  primarily  intended  to  harass  and  injure 
France.  While  this  did  not  make  Great  Britain  right, 
it  put  the  question  of  national  honor  in  a  very  different 
relation.  The  hostile  animus  was  against  France  and 
France  alone.  We  suffered  wrong  incidentally  to  the 
great  contest  for  life  or  death  between  the  European 
powers.  So  the  British  treaty  of  1806  was  not  ratified. 
Mr.  Monroe  was  much  displeased  at  the  rejection  of  the 
treaty,  which  he  deemed  honorable  and  advantageous. 
It  is  only  fair  to  say  that  the  assurances  given  our  com- 
missioners had  been  explicit,  direct,  and  emphatic.  On 
the  other  hand,  in  view  of  England's  subsequent  wrong- 
ful and  violent  acts,  it  is  not  unreasonable  to  doubt 
whether  those  assurances  would  have  been  made  good 
had  the  treaty  been  ratified. 

The  outrage  upon  the  Chesapeake  was  resented  by  Mr. 
Jefferson  in  a  proclamation  which  ordered  all .  British 


Jefferson's  second  term 


199 


men-of-war  out  of  American  waters.  This  the  British 
government  made  an  excuse  for  refusing  to  enter  into 
negotiations  for  the  reparation  admittedly  Jefferson's 
due  for  that  outrage.  They  demanded  that  proclamation, 
the  proclamation  be  withdrawn  before  they  would  pro- 
ceed to  treat.  To  this  our  government  replied,  first, 
that  the  proclamation  was  not  issued  solely  on  account 
of  the  affair  of  the  Chesapeake,  but  by  reason  of  a  long 
train  of  injurious  acts  of  which  this  was  the  latest  and 
most  flagrant ;  secondly,  that,  as  the  British  government 
still  held  the  seamen  taken  from  the  Chesapeake,  the 
aggression  of  England  still  continued.  Negotiations 
being  thus  broken  off,  the  reparation  of  England  was 
delayed  for  four  years. 

We  now  come  to  the  positive  acts  of  our  government 
to  redress  or  retaliate  the  wrongs  to  our  trade.  Early  in 
1806  Congress  passed  an  act,  which,  however,  rpj^^  Non-im- 
was  not  to  go  into  effect  until  November,*  portation  Act. 
prohibiting  the  importation,  from  any  of  the  ports  of 
Great  Britain  or  of  her  colonies,  of  a  long  list  of  manu- 
factured articles.  The  idea  of  bringing  England,  as  a 
great  industrial  and  trading  nation,  to  terms  by  means 
of  commercial  war,  instead  of  by  force  of  arms,  had  a 
strong  hold  upon  the  popular  mind  at  this  time  and  in 
succeeding  years.  It  had  come  down  from  the  period  of 
the  contest  of  the  colonies  with  the  mother  country  be- 
fore the  outbreak  of  the  Revolution,  when  there  was  no 
other  course  which  we  could  take.  To  touch  the  pock- 
ets of  the  wrong-doer  was  believed  to  be  a  more  potent 
means  of  securing  redress  than  to  appeal  either  to  his 
conscience  or  his  fears.  Great  Britain  had  need  to  ob- 
tain food  and  cotton  and  naval  stores  from  the  United 
States  ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  had  been  accustomed  to 

''^  "  A  dose  of  chicken-broth  to  be  taken  nine  months  hence,"  as  Mr. 
John  Randolph  called  it. 


200  THE  MAKIN-G  OF  THE  NATION 


look  to  this  country  as  its  best  customer  in  respect  to  its 
fabrics  and  its  hardware.  By  non-intercourse  it  was 
hoped  so  to  distress  the  trading  and  industrial  classes  as 
to  bring  a  pressure  upon  the  offending  government 
strong  enough  to  secure  the  repeal  of  the  Orders  in 
Council  and  the  discontinuance  of  the  lawless  practice 
of  impressment.  This  notion  was  peculiarly  suited  to 
the  mind  and  temper  of  the  President^  and  scarcely  less 
to  that  of  Mr.  Madison.  The  Non-importation  Act  did, 
indeed,  cause  great  suffering  in  the  industrial  and  com- 
mercial counties  of  England  ;  and  month  after  month 
petitions  and  addresses  poured  in  upon  Parliament  and 
the  government,  urging  a  friendly  settlement  of  the  dif- 
culties  with  America.  But  it  was  to  require  a  long  and 
humiliating  experience  to  show  the  inefficiency  of  this 
resort,  as  against  a  nation  engaged,  as  England  was,  in  a 
struggle  for  life  and  death  with  a  powerful  continental 
antagonist. 

In  view  of  the  wrongs  done  us  in  the  Orders  in  Coun- 
cil and  by  the  Berlin  decree,  Mr.  Jefferson  recommended. 
The  Embar-  Congress,  on  the  22d  of  December,  1807, 
enacted,  a  law,  without  limit  of  time, 
famous  as  the  Embargo  Act,  by  which  all  vessels 
in  the  jurisdiction  of  the  United  States,  bound  to 
a  foreign  port,  were  prohibited  from  sailing,  except- 
ing foreign  armed  vessels  and  foreign  merchantmen 
which  were  either  in  ballast  or  with  goods  on  board 
when  notified  of  the  act.  Coasting  vessels  were  re- 
quired before  departure  to  give  bonds  to  land  their  car- 
go at  some  port  of  the  United  States.  John  Quincy 
Adams,  the  son  of  the  second  President,  formerly  min- 
ister to  the  Hague  and  to  Berlin,  and  then  a  member 
of  Congress,  at  this  point  broke  with  the  Federalists  and 
gave  in  his  adhesion  to  the  embargo  as  a  measure  neces- 
sary to  vindicate  the  rights,  the  interests,  and  the  dignity 


JEFFERSON'S  SECOISTD  TERM 


201 


of  the  United  States.  The  embargo  to  all  appearances 
passed  through  Congress  solely  on  the  strength  of  the 
President's  recommendation,  so  powerful  was  Mr.  Jef- 
ferson with  his  party  in  and  out  of  Congress.  No 
adequate  discussion  was  had ;  even  the  usual  parlia^ 
mentary  delays  were  waived.  So  hurriedly  had  the  bill 
been  pressed  to  a  conclusion  that  it  became  necessary  to 
enact  two  supplementary  measures^  and  a  little  later^  to 
pass  an  Enforcing  Act^  which  gave  the  executive  the 
most  despotic  powers  in  dealing  with  both  foreign  and 
domestic  trade. 

The  embargo  was  hailed  by  one  party  as  the  height  of 
wisdom  ;  by  the  other  denounced  as  the  depth  of  folly. 
Sectional  feeling  was  aroused  to  an  incredi-  opposition 
ble  extent.  The  commercial  States  deemed  goin^t^^om" 
the  measure  a  blow  maliciously  dealt  at  merciai states, 
them ;  and  with  every  day  their  sufferings  were  pro- 
tracted their  hatred  and  exasperation  increased.  Mr. 
Jeff erson  was  charged  with  suppressing  correspondence 
which  went  to  show  that  the  embargo  was  not  answer- 
ing its  sole,  avowed  purpose  of  distressing  the  two  na- 
tions which  were  competing  in  injuries  to  our  com- 
merce ;  and  also  to  show  that  England  had,  through 
Mr.  Canning,  expressed  a  willingness  to  mitigate  the 
severity  of  the  Orders  in  Council  so  far  as  they  affected 
American  trade.  If  we  concede  the  President's  entire 
honesty  in  the  business  of  the  embargo,  we  must  at  the 
least  admit  that  he  had  a  very  unfortunate  record  in 
such  matters.  Mr.  Jefferson  had  been  much  given  to 
denouncing  international  commerce  as  a  curse  ;  he  had 
expressed  his  unwillingness  to  see  great  commercial 
cities  built  up  within  the  United  States.  His  hostility 
to  the  banking  and  financial  interests  was  notorious.  It 
was,  therefore,  easy  for  those  who  suffered  by  the  em- 
bargo to  assert  that  he  was  rather  pleased,  than  other- 


202 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


wise,  to  have  this  opportunity  of  striking  a  blow  at  trade 
and  navigation.  Had  the  embargo  been  the  work  of  a 
statesman  friendly  to  commerce,  it  might  have  been  ac- 
cepted by  the  sufferers  as  a  necessary  act  of  national  de- 
fence ;  but  Mr.  Jefferson,  however  conscious  he  might 
be  of  his  own  integrity  in  the  matter,  had  no  right  to 
complain  if  New  York  and  Boston  believed  the  measure 
to  have  been  gratuitous,  and  even  a  wilful  blow  at  their 
interests. 

During  the  latter  part  of  1808  the  exasperation  in 
New  England  over  the  embargo  had  reached  the  point  of 
threatening  the  secession  of  that  section  from  the  Union. 
The  Kepublicans  in  power  had  now  to  learn  how  ill  this 
talk  sounded,  by  hearing  it  from  the  lips  of  their  op- 
ponents. There  is  no  such  mode  of  teaching  as  through 
the  objective  study  of  a  subject,  especially  across  the 
barriers  of  party.  To  Virginia  statesmen,  doctrines  of 
nullification  and  secession  seemed  only  wicked  when 
advanced  by  hot-headed  Federalists  in  Massachusetts. 
Mr.  Jefferson  was  alarmed  at  the  prospect  and  began  to 
be  doubtful  of  the  virtue  of  his  panacea.  The  connec- 
tion between  making  grass  grow  in  the  streets  of  Boston, 
Salem,  Newport,  and  New  Haven,  and  overthrowing  the 
British  government,  appeared  to  him  somewhat  less 
plain  than  at  the  beginning.  The  customs  of  oriental 
nations  were  not  so  well  known  at  that  time  as  at 
present ;  and  Mr.  Jefferson  was  not  able  to  strengthen 
his  own  convictions  by  a  reference  to  the  usage  in  cer- 
tain provinces  of  India,  by  which  a  person  who  has  been 
wronged  sits  down  before  the  door  of  the  evil-doer  and 
there  rips  open  his  abdomen,  in  order  to  bring  a  curse 
down  upon  his  enemy.  Had  Mr.  Jefferson  known  this, 
it  might  have  been  a  great  comfort  to  him.  As  it  was, 
unfortified  by  such  a  classical  example,  his  courage  gave 
way ;  and  in  February,  1809,  the  last  month  of  his  term 


Jefferson's  second  term 


203 


of  office^  the  embargo  was  repealed,  and  the  policy  of 
non-intercourse  with  England  and  France  was  substi- 
tuted, the  chansje  to  take  elfect  in  March. 
We  thus  see  Mr.  Jefferson's  administration  |o  breaks 
close  with  our  foreign  difficulties  unad- 
justed,  while  the  questions  of  search  and  impressment 
were  handed  on  to  his  successor.  There  can  be  no 
doubt  that  the  last  part  of  Mr.  Jefferson's  otherwise  re- 
markably successful  administration  had  been  to  him 
a  very  painful  one,  and  embittered  his  cup  for  many 
years.  Long  after,  when  the  war  which  he  sought  so 
carefully  to  avoid  had  come  and  gone,  and  his  country 
had  taken  its  proper  place  among  the  nations  of  the 
earth,  he  could  review  this  period  of  his  life  and  satisfy 
himself  that  what  he  did  was  best  to  be  done.  But  at 
the  time,  the  foreign  difficulties  of  his  administration 
must  often  have  caused  him  to  wish  he  had  remained 
the  serene  philosopher  of  Monticello,  instead  of  ventur- 
ing upon  the  stormy  ocean  of  practical  politics. 

During  the  session  of  1805-06  an  appropriation  of  two 
million  dollars  was  made  for  extraordinary  expenses  of 
foreign  intercourse,  the  real  object  being  to 
secure  Florida,  or  at  least  the  western  part  of  ^' 
it,  by  purchase,  from  Spain,  thereby  solving  our  dif- 
ficulties with  that  power.  A  resolution  was  adopted, 
however,  declaring  that  an  exchange  of  territory  be- 
tween the  United  States  and  Spain  would  be  the  most 
advantageous  mode  of  settling  the  existing  differences 
about  their  respective  boundaries.''  At  this  time  our 
relations  with  Spain  were  very  much  strained,  owing  to 
the  dispute  regarding  Florida  and  to  the  action  of  the 
Spanish  cruisers  which  infested  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 
There  was  a  large,  active  party  among  the  supporters  of 
the  administration  who  desired  to  see  the  Spanish  pos- 
sessions on  our  border  invaded  and  the  questions  at  issue 


204 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


settled  by  the  expulsion  of  the  Spaniards.  The  two 
million  appropriation  was  a  sop  to  this  faction. 

With  such  a  condition  of  our  foreign  relations  it 
scarcely  needs  to  be  stated  that  preparations  for  war 
Measures  of  ^^^^  Congress.    It  is,  perhaps,  of 

national  de-  sufficient  curious  interest  to  be  mentioned, 

fence. 

that  Mr.  JefEerson^'s  fixed  aversion  to  large 
armaments,  combined  with  his  inveterate  propensity  to 
dabble  in  every  art,  science^  or  device,  gave  rise  to  a  very 
peculiar  system  of  coast  defence.  Although  Mr.  Jeffer- 
son knew  absolutely  nothing  about  naval  warfare,  or  any 
kind  of  warfare,  he  was  yet  serenely  confident  that  his 
opinions  on  the  subject  of  a  navy  were  wiser  than  those 
of  all  the  men  who  had  learned  their  profession  under 
Nelson  and  CoUingwood.  His  scheme  was,  and  he 
urged  it  so  strongly  upon  Congress  as  to  secure  its  par- 
tial and  temporary  adoption,  that  the  government  should 
build  gunboats,  of  diminutive  size,  each  manned  by  five 
to  seven  men,  and  carrying  one  gun,  instead  of  the  pow- 
erful ships  of  war  then  sanctioned  by  the  naval  science 
of  the  world.  In  1803  Congress  appropriated  $50,000, 
for  fifteen  boats  ;  and  later,  in  1806,  $250,000  for  fifty 
more.  The  ^'mosquito  fleet was  brought  into  exist- 
ence ;  but  its  utter  inefficiency  was  soon  demonstrated 
to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  everybody  but  Mr.  J efler- 
son. 

After  so  much  space  devoted  to  foreign  affairs,  let  us 
now  pass  to  the  consideration  of  domestic  affairs  in  this 
administration.  In  1806  an  act  was  passed  authorizing 
the  construction  of  a  road  from  Cumberland,  Md.,  into 
The  Cumber-  the  State  of  Ohio.  Although  the  construc- 
landroad.  ^[^^  ^^[^  ^q^^j  ^as  urged  upon  the  ground 
that  it  would  open  up  the  public  lands  to  settlement, 
and  though  the  cost  of  construction  was  defrayed,  or 
supposed  to  be  defrayed,  out  of  the  proceeds  of  sales. 


Jefferson's  second  term 


205 


this  act  is  yet  of  considerable  historical  interest  with  re- 
spect to  the  question  of  internal  improvements,  the 
question  which  became  of  so  much  impor-  internal  im- 
tance  immediately  after  the  peace  of  1815.  pro^ements. 
The  propriety  of  opQiiing  rivers  for  the  purposes  of 
navigation,  of  improving  and  protecting  the  ports  pf 
commerce,  of  building  lighthouses  and  breakwaters, 
never  came  into  question.  It  was  by  all  parties  ad- 
mitted that  the  United  States  had  ample  authority 
under  the  Constitution  to  do  just  as  much  of  these 
things,  pertaining  to  commerce,  as  its  means  allowed 
and  as  the  public  good  seemed  to  require.  The  right  of 
the  United  States,  again,  to  construct  forts,  arsenals, 
and  navy-yards,  as  well  as  appropriate  buildings  for  all 
branches  of  the  civil  government,  could  not  be  ques- 
tioned, although  the  influence  of  the  Democratic-Re- 
publican party  was  always  thrown  in  favor  of  diminished 
appropriations  for  such  purposes,  whether  from  opposi- 
tion to  a  large  establishment  or  from  a  preference  for 
primitive  simplicity  in  carrying  on  the  public  service. 
But  in  regard  to  another  class  of  constructive  works, 
namely,  main  roads  and  canals,  the  party  of  Jetlerson 
and  Madison  from  the  first  took  high  ground,  declaring 
that  appropriations  for  this  purpose  were  in  violation 
of  the  Constitution.  If  the  members  of  this  party  were 
not  always  consistent  in  the  matter,  it  was  because  of 
the  seductions  of  local  interest  and  the  additional  charm 
which  an  appropriation  acquires  to  the  mind  of  any  citi- 
zen when  it  is  to  be  expended  in  his  own  immediate 
locality.  The  contest  over  this  question  went  on  for 
about  one  human  generation.  Then,  in  the  develop- 
ment of  science  and  the  arts,  the  railroad  came  into 
being,  and  relegated  both  the  national  road  "  and  the 
canal  to  insignificance  and  obscurity.  Inasmuch  as  no 
one,  not  even  the  most  ardent  Whig,  was  ready  to  pro- 


206 


THE  MAKIXG  OF  THE  KATION 


pose  that  railroads  should  be  built  by  the  national  gov- 
ernment, the  issue  died  out  of  our  politics,  affording 
a  rather  curious  instance  how  far  laws  and  policies  and 
constitutions  may  be  affected  by  social  and  industrial 
developments. 

But  while  the  steam-railway  was  yet  far  in  the  dis- 
tance, the  steamboat  was  just  coming  into  use  on  the 
The  steam-  g^^^t  rivers  of  the  United  States.  Kepeated 
boat.  efforts  had  been  made  to  apply  the  new  mo- 
tive-power to  the  propulsion  of  vessels  ;  but  it  was  not 
until  1807  that  Robert  Fulton,  upon  the  Hudson,  solved 
the  problem  by  sending  his  paddle-wheel  steamer,  of 
twenty  horse-power,  with  berths  for  one  hundred  passen- 
gers, from  New  York  to  Albany,  sail-less,  against  the 
tide,''^  in  two-and-thirty  hours.  By  an  act  of  the  State 
Legislature,  Fulton  and  his  patron.  Chancellor  Living- 
ston, were  given  a  monopoly  for  thirty  years  of  steam 
navigation  in  New  York.  This  monopoly  was,  in  1824, 
declared  by  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States 
[Gibbons  vs,  Ogden]  to  be  in  collision  with  acts  of  Con- 
gress regulating  the  coasting-trade,  and  therefore  void. 
Long  before  this  our  rivers  and  lakes  had  become  cov- 
ered with  steamboats,  of  ever-increasing  capacity  and 
speed.  The  enormous  extension  thus  given  to  inter- 
communication between  States  and  communities  not 
only  served  to  promote  the  rapid  settlement  of  the  great 
West,  but  became  a  powerful  factor  in  the  development 
of  American  nationality. 

Aaron  Burr,  a  hounded  outcast,  was  arrested  by  the 
authorities  of  Mississippi  Territory,  and  tried  before 
TheBurrt  *  1  ^^icf-Justice  Marshall  and  the  District  Judge 
of  Virginia,  for  treason.  It  was  charged  that 
he  had,  in  Virginia  and  elsewhere,  organized  an  expedi- 
tion to  take  possession  of  portions  of  Mexico  and  of  our 
own  southwestern  territory,  for  the  purpose  of  setting 


JEFFERSON'S  SECOND  TERM 


207 


up  an  independent  government.  The  question  of  Burros 
guilt  was  largely  made  a  party  question,  as  was  nearly 
everything  in  those  days.  Greatly  to  Mr.  Jetferson^s 
wrath  and  disgust,  Burr  was  acquitted,  in  September, 
1807,  on  technical  points,  not  reaching  the  merits  of  the 
case.  The  President  persisted  in  regarding  himself  as 
very  much  abused  by  the  result  of  the  trial,  charging  the 
fault  upon  the  Federalists  generally,  and  especially  upon 
the  Chief-Justice.  The  fact  appears  to  be  that  Mr.  Jef- 
ferson had  himself  to  thank,  having,  in  his  own  pecul- 
iar laissez-faire  fashion,  failed  to  take  any  adequate 
means  to  secure  competent  legal  evidence  regarding 
Burros  operations,  either  at  the  time  or  before  the  trial. 
The  President  might,  and  doubtless  would,  have  been 
willing  to  hang  Burr  upon  his  character  or  on  general 
fame  ;  but  judges  and  juries  cannot  be  blamed  if  they 
insist  upon  something  more  concrete,  objective,  and  sub- 
stantial. It  is  to  be  remembered  that  the  definition  of 
treason  by  our  Constitution  is  a  very  strict  one ;  and 
what  the  requirement  as  to  the  evidence  necessary  to  con- 
vict of  this  crime  is  exceptionally  severe. 

Just  what  it  was  Burr  had  in  view  will  never  be 
known.  Possibly  he  did  not  exactly  know,  himself  ; 
probably  he  had  several  thing's  in  contem- 

w  X     1.     J         •  •  XI.    Burr'B  designs. 

plation,  as  to  be  done  m  succession,  ii  the 
earlier  enterprises  went  off  well,  or  as  alternatives,  if 
these  failed.  Almost  certain  it  is  that,  to  different  per- 
sons whom  he  sought  to  enlist,  he  made  different  repre- 
sentations and  held  forth  inducements  adapted  to  the 
needs  or  the  weaknesses  of  the  individuals  addressed. 
To  seize  Florida  from  Spain  ;  to  annex  Texas  and  Mex- 
ico to  the  United  States ;  to  detach  the  Mississippi  Ter- 
ritory from  the  United  States  ;  to  pillage  New  Orleans  ; 
to  undertake  a  harmless  but  gigantic  scheme  of  settle- 
ment and  land  speculation  :  each  one  of  these  things 


208 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION" 


seems  to  have  been  in  the  mind  of  some  one  of  Burros 
dupes  or  tools.  It  is  needless  further  to  inquire  into  the 
matter.  One  thing  is  certain  :  General  Wilkinson^  the 
commander  of  the  United  States  forces^  and  the  Governor 
of  the  Mississippi  Territory,  was  improperly,  if  not  crimi- 
nally, enlisted  in  the  conspiracy.  It  is  certain,  also,  that 
Burr  would  never  have  undertaken  his  scheme,  whatever 
that  scheme  in  fact  was,  but  for  the  long-smouldering 
discontent  of  the  trans- Appalachian  communities  at  the 
failure  of  the  government  at  Washington  to  see  to  it 
that  ^^the  Mississippi  ran  unvexed  to  the  sea.^^  The 
disaffection  of  the  Creole  population  of  Louisiana,  who, 
without  their  own  consent,  had  been  transferred  first 
by  Spain  to  France,  and  then  by  France  to  the  United 
States,  was  in  all  probability  an  important  element  in 
Burros  schemes  and  plans. 

The  finances  of  the  United  States  had  been  singularly 
prosperous  throughout  Mr.  JeflPerson's  entire  adminis- 
The  finances  partly  through  the  parsimony  which 

refused  the  means  requisite  for  putting  the 
nation  on  a  footing  to  resent  and  repel  the  injuries  suf- 
fered at  the  hands  of  England  and  France  ;  but  more 
through  the  growth  of  the  customs  revenue,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  marvellous  extension  of  our  carrying  trade 
during  the  wars  which  convulsed  Europe.  The  receipts 
of  the  government  rose  continually,  until  the  annual 
surplus  amounted  to  many  millions,  which  were  system- 
atically devoted  to  the  still  further  reduction  of  the 
Kevolutionary  debt,  now  almost  extinguished. 

The  Constitution  had  provided  that  the  migration  or 
importation  of  such  persons  as  any  of  the  States  then 
existing  might  think  it  proper  to  admit,  should  not  be 
prohibited  by  Congress  prior  to  the  year  1808.  It  is  to 
the  honor  of  our  government  that  not  one  day^s  grace 
was  allowed  this  infamous  traffic,  after  Congress  ac- 


Jefferson's  second  term 


209 


quired  the  constitutional  competence  to  deal  with  it. 
By  an  act  of  the  session  of  1806-7,  it  was  declared  a  high 
misdemeanor  to  take  on  board,  in  any  foreign  country, 
any  colored  person,  with  intent  to  sell  him  in  the  United 
States.  Severe  penalties  were  imposed  upon  the  viola- 
tion of  the  act,  and  the  purchase  of  any  person  who  had 
been  so  imported  was  punishable  by  fine.  *  The  fitting 
out  of  vessels  for  this  trade  involved  forfeit-  ^^^^ 
ure  and  heavy  fines.     The  president  was  tion  of  the 

.  ,     ^     ,  slave-trade. 

authorized  to  man  and  equip  cruisers  to  en- 
force the  law  and  bring  its  violators  to  punishment.  On 
the  question  what  should  be  done  with  slaves  when  un- 
lawfully brought  into  the  country,  there  was  naturally 
much  controversy.  It  was  finally  disposed  of  by  refer- 
ring the  subject  to  the  States. 

But  while,  in  the  immediate  matter  of  the  slave-trade, 
the  year  1808  witnessed  a  great  victory  on  the  behalf  of 
human  rights,  that  period  marks  ^'^the  parting  of  the 
ways^^  in  the  still  more  important  issue  of  domestic 
slavery.  At  the  close  of  the  War  of  Independence 
every  State,  except  possibly  Massachusetts,  had  slaves 
within  its  borders  ;  although  throughout  New  England 
and  the  Middle  States  these  were  so  few,  and  the  profits 
of  their  labor  so  slight,  that  it  was  not  to  be  doubted 
that  the  domestic  institution  must  there  soon  cease 
to  exist.  By  the  time  the  Constitution  was  adopted,  all 
the  New  England  States,  with  Pennsylvania,  had  abol- 
ished slavery  outright,  or  had  provided  for  its  gradual 
extinction.  New  York  passed  her  act  of  emancipation 
in  1799,  New  Jersey  in  1804.  Throughout  the  border 
Slave  States  of  1789,  viz. — Delaware,  Maryland,  and  Vir- 
ginia— slaves  were  found  in  considerable  numbers ;  but 
here,  again,  the  profits  of  their  labor,  mainly  employed 
in  raising  tobacco  and  the  cereal  crops,  were  not  so  great 
but  that  the  sentiments  and  scruples  of  large  numbers 
14 


210 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


of  citizens^  embracing  perhaps  a  majority  of  the  men  of 
influence  and  of  social  importance,  favored  the  project 
of  ultimate  emancipation.  In  the  Constitutional  Con- 
Ant  i -slavery  vention  some  of  the  strongest  declarations 

agitation,  against  slavery  had  come  from  Virginians  ; 
and  it  long  remained  within  the  bounds  of  possibility 
that  this  State  would  lead  its  immediate  neighbors  in 
some  act  of  gradual  abolition.  But  by  1808  the  course 
of  events,  both  economic  and  political,  had  put  a  stop  to 
all  movements  for  emancipation  throughout  that  sec- 
tion, and  had  committed  the  border  States  definitively  to 
the  side  of  slavery.  Among  the  forces  thus  operating 
were,  on  the  one  hand,  the  increasing  profitableness  of 
cotton-culture  at  the  South  and  the  Southwest,  which 
created  an  active  market  for  slave  labor ;  and,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  irritation  felt  by  the  slave-holding  pop- 
ulations, generally,  at  the  agitation  for  abolition  which 
had  been  so  actively  prosecuted  at  the  North,  and  par- 
ticularly, during  this  period,  in  Pennsylvania,  where 
the  powerful  Quaker  element  arrayed  itself  solidly  upon 
that  side.  This  agitation  had  naturally  involved  the 
most  passionate  denunciations  ;  and,  while  it  had  cre- 
ated a  deep  aversion  to  slavery  throughout  the  North, 
it  had,  by  a  necessary  reaction,  solidified  and  strength- 
ened the  slave-holding  sentiment  of  the  South. 

It  was  during  the  administration  of  Mr.  Jefferson  that 
the  northern  portions  of  the  newly  acquired  territory 
were  explored  by  two  gallant  adventurers,  whose  names 
are  now  familiar  as  household  words,  Lewis  and  Clarke. 

Lewis  and  '^^^^  expedition  was  honorable  to  the  United 
Clarke's  expe-  States,  and  has  connected  the  names  of  the 
explorers,  and  of  their  political  patrons,  Gal- 
latin and  Jefferson,  with  some  of  the  grandest  features 
of  the  great  northwestern  empire. 

The  cabinet  changes  in  Jefferson^s  second  term  really 


Jefferson's  second  term 


211 


affected  only  the  Attorney-Geiieralsliip.  In  1805  Eobert 
Smith,  of  Maryland,  up  to  this  time  Secretary  of  the 
Navy,  became  Attorney  -  General.  Jacob  cabinet 
Crowninshield,  of  Massachusetts,  who  had  ci^ai^ges. 
been  appointed  to  the  Navy  Department,  preferred  to 
retain  his  seat  in  Congress,  and  Smith  returned  at  the 
close  of  the  year  to  his  former  office,  being  succeeded  in 
the  Attorney-Generalship  by  John  Breckinridge,  of  Ken- 
tucky. Upon  Breckinridge^s  death,  Caesar  A.  Rodney, 
of  Delaware,  became  Attorney-General,  in  January,  1807. 
The  remaining  officers  of  the  cabinet  in  the  first  term 
were  continued  through  the  second. 

As  the  sixth  presidential  election  approached,  it  was 
manifest  to  all  that  there  would  be  very  little  politics  in 
it.  The  Federalist  party  was  so  completely  broken  up 
as  to  offer  but  slight  resistance.  Mr.  Jefferson  firmly 
and  consistently  refused  to  be  considered  a  Mr.  Jefferson 
candidate  for  re-election.  In  addition  to  a  retires, 
sense  of  increasing  infirmities,  he  had  long  entertained  a 
sincere  conviction  that  the  period  of  the  presidential  of- 
fice should  not  be  extended  beyond  that  of  Washington, 
namely,  two  terms  of  four  years  each.  If  some  period, 
he  had  once  written,  '^'be  not  fixed,  either  by  the  Con- 
stitution or  by  practice,  the  office  will,  though  nominally 
elective,  become  for  life,  and  then  hereditary.'^ 

In  deciding  upon  the  candidate  of  the  dominant 
party  we  note  a  change  regarding  the  natural  succes- 
sion to  the  presidency.  At  first  it  had  gixth 
seemed  appropriate  that  the  vice-president  presidential 
should  succeed.  John  Adams  had  been 
Washington's  vice-president,  and  followed  him  in  of- 
fice. Indeed,  during  his  vice-presidency  Adams  hu- 
morously, and  yet  not  altogether  without  serious  in- 
tention, referred  to  himself  as  the  heir- apparent.'^ 
Jefferson,  again,  had  been  vice-president  with  Adams, 


212 


THE  MAKIJSTG  OF  THE  NATION 


and  in  turn  succeeded  him,  though,  it  must  be  admitted, 
for  other  reasons  than  those  which  brought  Adams  to 
the  executive  chair.  But  now,  at  the  close  of  JefEer- 
son's  administration,  we  find  that  it  is  Madison,  the 
Secretary  of  State,  who  is  nominated  for  the  succes- 
sion. And  if  we  look  forward  eight  years,  to  the  close 
of  Madison^s  administration,  we  shall  see  that  it  is 
his  Secretary  of  State,  Monroe,  who  is  nominated.  And, 
going  still  further  forward,  to  the  close  of  Monroe's 
administration,  we  find  that  it  is  his  Secretary  of  State, 
John  Quincy  Adams,  who  takes  the  succession.  The 
change  upon  which  we  have  thus  dwelt  was  not  acci- 
dental. It  was  due  to  the  overwhelming  predomiixances. 
which  our  foreign  relations^^hg^^^^^Qquked  in  the. jgJitiQS 
of  the  country. 

It  is  not,  however,  improbable  that,  but  for  the  strong 
hold  which  the  Virginians  had  upon  the  politics  of  the 
nation  at  this  time,  the  claims  of  Governor  George 
Clinton,  of  New  York,  who,  as  vice-president  with  Jef- 
ferson, during  his  second  term,  felt  himself  to  have  ac- 
quired a  certain  prescriptive  right,  according  to  previ- 
ous usage,  and  who  had,  moreover,  a  very  remarkable 
record  of  public  and  party  services,  might  have  been 
recognized  by  a  nomination  for  the  presidency.  But 
the  grip  of  the  Virginia  Dynasty^'  upon  that  office 
was,  as  yet,  too  strong  to  give  a  northern  republican 
anything  like  an  equal  chance.  If  it  had  not  been  Mad- 
ison, it  would  not  have  been  Clinton  ;  it  would  have 
been  Monroe.  Indeed,  as  it  was,  the  president  had 
much  difficulty  in  holding  Monroe's  partisans  back  and 
in  appeasing  Monroe's  own  sense  of  injustice.  That  it 
was,  after  all,  for  Mr.  Jefferson  to  select  his  successor, 
seems  to  have  been  generally  conceded,  even  by  the 
Monroe  faction.  Was  he  not  the  party's  founder, 
leader,  and  owner  ? 


Jefferson's  secoiid  term 


213 


Personally  Mr.  Madison  had  earned  the  promotion  he 
was  to  receive.  Mr.  Jefferson  owed  him  support^  for 
no  political  chieftain  ever  had  a  more  faith-  ^  ^ 

ful  and  efficient  lieutenant.  For  twenty  nomination 
years  he  had  thought  Mr.  Jefferson^s  thoughts 
and  fought  his  battles.  He  had  carried  out  Mr.  Jef- 
ferson^s  political  plans  with  more  of  steadiness,  more 
of  discretion,  and  more  of  capacity  for  detail,  than  the 
chief  himself  possessed.  The  Eepublican  party,  too,  was 
under  profound  obligations  to  give  its  support  to  Mr. 
Madison  before  any  other  man.  With  clear  convic- 
tions, with  untiring  industry,  and  with  high  partisan 
fidelity,  he  had,  next  to  Jefferson,  contributed  to  its 
success.  Finally,  the  nation  did  well  to  raise  Mr.  Madi- 
son to  this  exalted  station.  He  had  been  one  of  the 
leading  spirits  of  the  Convention  of  1787,  and  one  of  the 
chief  defenders  of  the  Constitution  before  the  people. 
In  setting  the  government  fairly  on  foot,  in  organizing 
the  departments  which  should  carry  on  the  public  ser- 
vice, and  in  shaping  the  legislation  of  the  first  critical 
years,  his  influence  had  been  great,  and,  on  the  whole, 
highly  useful.  If  we  may  rejoice  that  the  United 
States  have  not  become  altogether  what  Mr.  Madison 
planned  and  desired,  the  bitterest  partisan  cannot  re- 
gret that  his  labors  were  so  rewarded.  The  result  of 
the  election  was  a  foregone  conclusion.  Mr.  Madison 
received  122  votes,  against  47  for  General  C.  C.  Pinck- 
ney  and  6  for  George  Clinton.  The  last  named  also  re- 
ceived 113  votes  for  vice-president  and  was  elected. 
Ruf us  King,  formerly  of  Massachusetts  and  then  of  New 
York,  received,  as  the  federalist  candidate  for  the  vice- 
presidency,  an  equal  vote  with  General  Pinckney. 


CHAPTER  XI 


THE  CONTROVERSY  WITH  ENGLAND 

Madison's  Cabinet — His  Policy  of  Conciliation  toward  the  Federal- 
ists— Rapprochement  of  the  two  Parties — Randolph's  Faction 
of  "  Old  Republicans  "  and  the  Irreconcilable  Federalists  of 
New  England  Hold  Aloof— The  Trouble  with  England— Na- 
poleon Retaliates  with  the  Rambouillet  Decree — Alleged  Re- 
peal of  the  French  Decrees — Non-Intercourse  Act  Withdrawn 
as  Against  France — Controversy  over  this  Action — Secretary 
Smith  Resigns — His  Protest — James  Monroe  becomes  Secre- 
tary of  State  and  Heir- Apparent — Of  the  two  Nations  Doing  us 
Wrong,  the  Administration  Selects  England  as  an  Antagonist 
— The  War  Party — The  New  Men — Congress  Meets — Warlike 
Preparations — The  Henry  Episode — Madison's  Renomination 
— War  Declared  against  England — The  Federalist  Protest — 
Failure  of  Further  Negotiations — The  Hanson  Riot  in  Balti- 
more. 

Mr.  Madison  constituted  his  cabinet  as  follows  : 
Eobert  Smith,  of  Maryland,  Secretary  of  State  ;  William 
Madison's   Bustis,  of  Massachusetts,  Secretary  of  War  ; 

cabinet.  p^^|  Hamilton,  of  South  Carolina,  Secretary 
of  the  Navy.  Gallatin  and  Rodney  continued  in  office 
as  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  and  Attorney-General,  re- 
spectively. The  cabinet  thus  formed  was  not  a  strong 
one  as  a  whole,  although  it  contained  some  good  men. 
Smith  was  by  far  the  weakest  of  the  lot.  The  worst 
feature  of  its  organization  was  in  the  failure  to  promote 
Mr.  Gallatin  to  the  then  all-important  post  of  Secretary 
of  State,  as  he,  and  as  the  country,  had  reason  to  expect. 
Gallatin  was,  far  away,  the  ablest  man  of  the  group — 
the  only  truly  great  man  of  the  Cabinet,  ranking  next 
to  Hamilton  among  all  the  men  who  have  held  the 


THE  CONTROVERSY  WITH  ENGLAND  215 


office  of  Secretary  of  the  Treasury.  Had  he  been  left  in 
the  Treasury  simply  because  he  was  a  masterly  financier, 
it  might  have  been  considered  in  the  interest  of  good 
government.  But  he  had  shown  himself  as  great  in  state- 
craft as  in  finance  ;  and  every  one  knew  that  the  reason 
why  he  was  not  made  Secretary  of  State  was  to  be  found 
in  the  jealousy  and  envy  which  existed  among  many 
leaders  of  the  administration  party  in  Congress,  and  es- 
pecially in  the  intrigues  of  the  Smith  brothers — one  a 
Senator  from  Maryland ;  the  other,  the  man  chosen  to 
take  the  place  destined  for  his  better.  The  arrange- 
ment, therefore,  became  one  which,  from  the  start, 
weakened  Gallatin^s  infiuence,  and  exposed  him  to  the 
insults  and  assaults  of  venomous  enemies  and  impaired 
the  harmony  of  the  Cabinet  within,  and  its  prestige 
before  Congress  and  the  country. 

From  the  first  Mr.  Madison,  partly  by  force  of  temper- 
ament, partly  by  intention,  adopted  a  conciliatory  pol- 
i^^JmwiA  the  moderate  federalists,  whom  Maaison's 
me  aggressions  of  England  were  driving  policy, 
into  something  like  an  approach  to  the  administra- 
tion. It  suited  Mr.  Madison^s  interests,  as  well  as  his 
disposition,  to  strengthen  his  party  from  this  quarter. 
On  the  opposite  side,  there  was  some  disaffection,  owing 
to  Mr.  Madison^s  comparative  moderation.  A  section,* 
under  the  half -famous  '^^Eandolph  of  Eoanoke,^^  had 
long  done  all  in  its  power  to  embarrass  the  administra- 
tion in  Congress  ;  had  disputed  Mr.  Madison^s  nomina- 
tion, presenting  Mr.  Monroe  instead,  even  going  so  far 
as  to  attempt  to  set  that  gentleman  up  as  an  indepen- 
dent candidate,  and  were  now  not  unprepared  to  make 
it  hot  for  Mr.  Madison. 

*  Known  as  the  "  Quids."  This  faction,  attempting  to  pose  as  a  third 
party,  had  been  at  first  called  a  tertium  quid  (a  third  something).  The 
epithet  was  finally  abridged,  as  stated. 


216 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


The  foregoing  statements  rather  represent  the  form 
which  the  politics  of  that  day  took^  than  express  their 
real  significance.     The  essential  fact  was 

Cnangea  po-    _  il  '^ 

sitionsofthe  that  while  old  federalists  were  rapidly  mv- 

two  parties.       .  .  .  .     ..  ^, 

mg  up  their  party  organization,  individu- 
ally, yet  still  in  vast  numbers,  owing  to  the  defeats 
and  humiliations  which  they  had  sustained  at  the 
polls,  to  the  disgust  and  anger  which  they  felt  at  the 
recent  conduct  of  England,  once  the  object  of  their  ad- 
miration and  attachment,  and  to  the  lack  of  anything 
like  bold,  strong,  and  able  leadership  on  their  side,  the 
republican  party,  on  the  other  hand,  had,  during  the  past 
few  years,  been  going  over  bodily  to  meet  the  federal- 
ly^ and  that,  even  more  than  half-way.  In  truth,  the 
republican  party  of  the  last  days  of  Jefferson's  admin- 
istration had  come  to  occupy  no  small  portion  of  the 
ground  on  which  the  federalists  of  Washington's  and 
Adams's  administrations  had  stood.  This  was  due  partly 
to  an  increasing  sense  of  American  nationality,  the 
natural  product  of  twenty  years  living  together  under 
the  Constitution,  but  even  more  to  the  inevitable  effect 
upon  the  republican  party  of  coming  into  power  and 
taking  up  the  duties  and  responsibilities  of  office.  No 
body  of  men  in  the  world's  history  ever  did  this  without 
becoming  self-assertive,  and  without  magnifying  the  au- 
thority of  the  government  they  administered. 

Against  this  rapprochement  of  the  large  majority  of 
the  former  federalists,  and  of  almost  the  whole  mass  of 
former  republicans,  at  the  outset  of  Madison's  adminis- 
tration, and  that,  too,  chiefly  upon  traditional  federal- 
ist ground,  there  were  two  bodies  of  remonstrants  and 
protestants,  the  one  consisting  of  John  Eandolpli's 

Quids,"  now  a  mere  handful,  who  denounced  Madison, 
and  even  Jefferson,  for  their  aggrandizing  tendency,  be- 
wailed the  spirit  of  consolidation,  and  clamored  for  a  re- 


THE  CONTROVERSY  WITH  ENGLAND 


217 


turn  to  the  old  Republicanism of  1798-99  ;  the  other 
consisting  of  the  remnant^  now  ^^a  feeble  folk/^  of  the 
once  omnipotent  federalist  party,  represented  in  the 
Senate  from  only  three  or  four  States,  and  in  the  House 
by  a  small  but  courageous,  aggressive,  and  .^^^ 
vindictive  band,  hardly  numerous  enough  to  concUabie  fac- 
enforce  the  briefest  parliamentary  delays 
upon  the  strictly  party  measures  of  the  administration, 
as  was  strikingly  shown  in  the  case  of  the  embargo 
law,  which  passed  the  House  in  three  days  and  the 
Senate  in  about  the  same  number  of  hours.  Just  as 
the  triumphant  republicans  had  largely  passed  over  to 
the  ground  once  occupied  by  their  political  opponents, 
so  the  unreconciled  federalists,  now  found  mainly  in 
New  England,  and  there  chiefly  in  Massachusetts  and 
Connecticut,  had,  in  the  vehemence  and  bitterness  of 
their  antagonism  to  the  measures  of  the  government, 
completely  apostatized  from  the  doctrines  of  Hamilton 
and  Adams,  and  had  taken  up  positions  scarcely  less 
hostile  to  the  authority  of  the  government  than  those 
represented  in  the  nullification  resolutions  of  1798-99. 

The  new  administration  took  up  the  questions  pend- 
ing between  the  United  States  and  England  where  they 
Lad  been  left,  without  any  progress  toward  The  troubles 
adjustment,  but  after  much  meddling  and  with  England, 
muddling,  by  Mr.  Jefferson.  In  April  (1809)  Mr.  Ers- 
kine,  the  British  minister  at  Washington,  represented 
that  if  the  United  States  would  rescind  the  Non-inter- 
course Act  in  favor  of  Great  Britain,  that  power  would 
recall  its  Orders  in  Council.  In  accordance  with  this 
suggestion  Mr.  Madison  issued  a  proclamation  reopen- 
ing trade  with  Great  Britain.  That  government,  how- 
ever, disavowed  Mr.  Erskine^s  act  and  promptly  recalled 
him ;  so  that  the  President  was  obliged,  on  August  3d, 
with  no  great  addition  to  the  dignity  of  our  position,  to 


218 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


issue  another  proclamation  declaring  the  Non-intercourse 
Act  still  in  force.  The  new  British  minister,  Copen- 
hagen Jackson/^  a  man  with  an  evil  reputation  in  the 
matter  of  neutral  rights,  immediately  gave  cause  of 
offence  by  declaring  that  the  United  States  had  all  along 
known  that  Mr.  Erskine  was  exceeding  his  instructions. 
Our  government,  stirred  by  this  imputation  of  ill  faith, 
declined  to  hold  any  further  communication  with  him, 
and  he  accordingly  returned  home.  No  successor  was 
appointed  by  his  government  until  1811. 

Now,  on  his  part.  Napoleon  issued  what  is  known  as 
the  Rambouillet  decree,  March  23,  1810,  by  which  every 
Napoleon  re-  American  vessel  and  cargo  which,  since  May 
taiiates.  20th  previous,  had  entered,  or  which  should 
thereafter  enter,  any  port  of  France,  or  her  colonies,  or 
of  any  country  occupied  by  the  French,  was  liable  to  be 
seized  and  sold.  The  scope  of  the  order  extended  to 
Spain,  Holland,  and  Naples.  This  measure  can  only  be 
characterized  as  an  outrageous  and  monstrous  aggression 
upon  our  rights,  dictated  by  the  insolence  of  Napoleon, 
now  grown  to  a  masterful  and  self-destroying  passion. 
The  practical  consequences  of  the  Rambouillet  decree 
were  most  disastrous  to  our  interests,  vessels  numbered 
by  the  hundreds  being  seized  thereunder. 

The  Non-intercourse  Act,  having  been  limited  in 
its  duration,  expired  early  in  1810 ;  and  on  May  1st 
Congress  passed  a  new  act,*  providing  that,  if  either 
Great  Britain  or  France  should,  before  March  3,  1811, 
revoke  or  so  modify  her  edicts  that  they  should  cease  to 
violate  our  neutral  commerce,  and  if  the  other  nation 
should  not,  within  three  months  thereafter,  do  the  same, 
then  the  act  interdicting  intercourse  should  be  revived 
against  the  nation  refusing  to  revoke.  On  August  5th 
the  Due  de  Cadore,  French  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs, 

*  Known  as     Macon  Bill,  No.  2." 


THE  CONTROVERSY  WITH  ENGLAND  219 


informed  General  Armstrong,  our  minister  at  Paris, 
that  the  Berlin  and  Milan  decrees  were  revoked  and 
would  cease  to  have  effect  after  November  1st  follow- 
ing/^ The  reason  stated  was  that  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States  had  retraced  its  steps  and  had  engaged  to 
oppose  the  belligerent  (Great  Britain)  which  refused  to 
acknowledge  the  rights  of  neutrals/^  The  condition 
of  the  revocation  was  ^^that  the  English  shall  revoke 
their  Orders  in  Council  and  renounce  the  new  principle 
of  blockade  {i.e.,  that  blockade  might  lawfully  be  ex- 
tended to  unfortified  ports  and  to  the  mouths  of  rivers), 
which  they  have  wished  to  establish,  or  that  the  United 
States  shall  cause  their  rights  to  be  respected  by  the 
English/'  Now,  inasmuch  as  the  reason  stated  was  false, 
the  United  States  never  having  announced  any  such  de- 
termination as  was  assumed,  and  inasmuch  as  the  con- 
dition proposed  was  one  the  United  States  never  accepted, 
it  is  difficult  to  see  how  this  amounted  to  a  repeal  of  the 
French  decrees,  in  the  sense  of  the  act  of  r^^Q  alleged 
May  1,  1810.  Yet  Mr.  Madison  jumped  over 
these  difficulties,  and,  receiving  the  report  of 
General  Armstrong  as  conclusive  of  the  action  of  the 
French  government,  issued  a  proclamation,  November  2, 
1810,  declaring  the  restrictions  removed  as  respected 
France  and  her  dependencies.  Three  months  later, 
namely,  March  2,  1811,  Congress  passed  an  act  declar- 
ing these  restrictions  in  force  against  Great  Britain. 

This  measure  was  followed  by  the  retirement  from 
office  of  Mr.  Eobert  Smith,  the  Secretary  of  State,  who 
appealed  to  the  country  in  a  review  of  the  secretary 
whole  subject.  Mr.  Smith  declared  that  the  f^^*^'^  p^^" 
decrees  of  France  had  not  been  actually  re- 
pealed ;  and  that,  therefore,  the  proclamation  restoring 
intercourse  with  France  and  the  act  prohibiting  inter- 
course with  England  were  unwarranted.     Mr.  Smith 


220 


THE  MAKIKG  OF  THE  NATION 


adduced  the  following  facts  in  support  of  his  opposition : 
First,  that  France  had  notified  us,  before  the  passage  of 
the  act  of  March  2d,  that  she  would  not  restore  the 
property  seized  under  the  recent  decree,  although  the 
State  Department  had  informed  France  that  this  would 
be  a  condition,  sine  qua  non,  of  our  favorable  action. 
Secondly,  that  he  (Secretary  Smith)  had  by  Mr.  Madi- 
son^s  indifference  been  checked  in  his  intentions  to 
obtain  from  the  French  minister  definite  and  positive 
statements  regarding  the  position  of  his  government ; 
that  Mr.  Madison  modified  in  an  important  degree  Mr. 
Smithes  despatches  seeking  to  place  the  United  States 
right  in  the  matter  of  the  outrages  perpetrated  under 
the  Rambouillet  decree,  and  that  Mr.  Madison  had  finally 
refused  to  allow  a  letter  to  be  despatched  which  con- 
tained specific  inquiries  deemed  by  the  Secretary  essen- 
tial to  the  proper  determination  of  the  question  whether 
France  had,  in  truth  and  fully,  repealed  the  obnoxious 
*  decrees.  Mr.  Smith  was  succeeded,  as  Secretary  of 
State,  by  Mr.  Monroe,  who,  in  assuming  the  office  be- 
Monroe  be-  Came  recognizcd  as  the  ^^heir-apparent to 
comes heir-ap-  the  presidency.     Down  to  this  time  Mr. 

parent. 

Monroe  had  been  put  forward  by  Randolph's 
faction,  and  by  Mr.  Madison^s  opponents  generally,  as 
the  champion  of  the  old  Republicanism,^^  and  had 
been  incited  by  them,  on  every  occasion,  to  exert  his  in- 
fluence against  the  administration.  His  public  adop- 
tion by  Mr.  Madison  brought  all  this  to  an  end,  and 
removed  the  most  important  of  the  President's  enemies 
or  rivals  within  his  own  party. 

Of  course,  England  was  not  satisfied  with  the  action 
of  the  United  States  regarding  the  French  decrees,  and 
in  a  lengthy  correspondence  asserted  the  bad  faith  of 
the  French  government  ;  the  insufficiency  of  the  so- 
called  revocation ;  and  the  partiality  of  the  United 


THE  CONTROVERSY  WITH  ENGLAND 


221 


States,  at  the  expense  of  Great  Britain.  Our  govern- 
ment, through  Mr.  Pinkney,  at  London,  and  through 
Mr.  Monroe,  at  Washington,  maintained  the  between 
justice  and  impartiality  of  its  acts.  It  was  France  and 
easy  to  show  that  Great  Britain  was  in  the  -^^^^^^^^ 
wrong  toward  us,  and  had  little  cause  of  complaint  what- 
ever measures  of  self-defence  we  might  adopt.  It  was  not 
easy  to  show  that  France  was  not  equally  to  blame  ;  and 
this  part  of  our  case  must  be  esteemed  much  less  satis- 
factory than  the  other.  But  the  true  explanation  of  the 
situation  is  not  found  to  be  in  the  diplomatic  expres- 
sions of  the  State  department  and  of  our  minister  in 
London.  The  dominant  party  had  made  up  their  minds 
that  war  with  England  must  come  ;  and  that,  therefore, 
war  with  France  must  be  avoided.  To  this  latter  end  we 
would  accept  from  France,  not  what  we  wanted,  not 
what  we  ought  to  have,  but  what  we  could  get.  Our 
people  had  long  been,  through  the  powerful  attraction 
of  an  unsettled  question,  producing  an  ever  wider  and 
deeper  irritation,  drifting  into  war  with  England,  just 
as  England,  forty  years  later,  in  the  phrase  of  Lord 
Aberdeen,  drifted  into  the  Crimean  War.  The  meas- 
ures of  non-intercourse  could  scarcely  be  considered  as 
rational  means  of  preparation.  They  left  the  country 
no  better  off  for  the  great  struggle.  They  were  rather 
the  acts  of  annoyance  and  offence  by  which  those  who 
know  they  must  come  to  blows  work  themselves  up  to 
the  fighting  point.  Meanwhile  the  angry  feelings  of 
the  two  nations  received  further  exasperation  by  an  acci- 
dental collision  between  the  American  frigate  President 
and  the  British  sloop-of-war  Little  Belt,  in  May,  1811. 

We  do  not  say  that  war  with  England  was  inevitable  ; 
that  it  was  even  likely  to  relieve  the  hardships  which 
the  United  States  had  indisputably  suffered  through  the 
arrogance  of  England  ;  but  the  ill-suppressed  hostility 


222  THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION" 


of  twenty  years  was  now  culminating.  Of  all  the  prom- 
inent  republican  politicians^  the  president  probably  was 
the  one  least  disposed  to  conflict.  Indeed^  Mr.  Madison 
had  of  late  been  writing  and  talking  much  more  about 
the  outrages  of  France  than  those  of  England ;  he  had 
even  sent  very  threatening  letters  to  Mr.  Barlow,  our 
minister  at  Paris,  denouncing  the  course  of  that  coun- 
try and  not  vaguely  intimating  hostile  intentions  toward 
her ;  but  the  tide  now  running  strongly  against  Eng- 
land carried  him  steadily  forward  to  the  end  which  was 
in  view  of  the  most  ardent  fire-eaters  of  his  party. 
And  here  we  have  to  note  that  the  impetus  to  war  was 
not  being  supplied  by  the  older  statesmen  of  the  coun- 
try, the  men  who  had  opposed  the  British  treaty  of 
John  Jay,  and  who  had  long  been  known  as  the  anti- 
Anglican  leaders,  but  by  young  men  of  mark  who  be- 
longed to  a  new  generation — foremost  among  them. 

The  war  ^^^^J  ^'lay,  of  Kentucky,  and  John  C.  Cal- 
party;the  houn,  of  South  Carolina.  But  for  these,  it 
is  probable  the  result  of  war  would  not  have 
been  reached.  The  United  States  had  borne  with  the 
injurious  acts  of  France  and  England  for  six  years. 
Two  years  more  would  have  seen  all  the  issues — search, 
impressment,  blockade,  and  infringements  of  neutral 
trade — disappear  in  the  downfall  of  Napoleon  and  the 
restoration  of  peace  in  Europe. 

The  regular  meeting  of  Congress  was  anticipated  in 
consequence  of  the  political  situation ;  and  that  body 
Congress  ^^^t  on  November  4,  1811,  when  the  Presi- 
meets.  ^^j^j.  communicated  the  diplomatic  proceed- 
ings of  the  government  during  the  year.  He  declared 
that  the  period  had  arrived  which  claimed  from  the 
legislative  guardians  of  the  national  rights  a  system  of 
more  ample  provision  for  maintaining  them.'^  On  the 
29th  of  the  month  the  Committee  on  Foreign  Relations, 


THE  CONTROVERSY  WITH  ENGLAND  223 


under  the  chairmanship  of  Mr.  Peter  B.  Porter^  of  New 
York,  made  a  very  warlike  report,  which  concluded  with 
the  recommendation  that  the  army  be  increased,  that 
the  navy  be  put  into  condition  for  service  ;  and  that 
merchant  vessels  be  allowed  to  arm  in  self-defence. 

On  March  9,  1812,  the  President  communicated  an 
alleged  attempt  of  the  British  government  to  disaffect 
and  detach  from  the  Union  the  northern  rpj^g  Henry 
and  northeastern  States.  The  fact  disclosed  episode, 
was  that  Sir  James  Craig,  Governor-General  of  Canada, 
had  employed  one  John  Henry  to  proceed  to  Boston  and 
to  keep  him  informed  as  to  the  state  of  public  opinion 
with  regard  to  general  politics  and  to  the  probability  of 
war  with  England  ;  as  to  the  comparative  strength  of 
the  parties ;  and  the  views  and  designs  of  that  which 
might  ultimately  prevail.  Henry  passed  through  Vermont 
and  New  Hampshire  to  Boston,  whence  he  wrote  a  num- 
ber of  letters  to  the  Governor-General  and  his  secretary. 
It  does  not  appear  that  he  communicated  directly  on 
the  subject  of  separation  with  any  person  of  impor- 
tance, or  that  his  mission  amounted  to  anything  in  fact. 
He  was  recalled ;  and  upon  the  Governor-General  fail- 
ing to  confer  upon  him  the  oflB.ce  he  had  promised, 
Henry  sold  information  of  his  mission  to  our  State  De- 
partment, which  is  exactly  what  the  man  who  would 
volunteer  for  such  a  service  would  be  likely  to  do.  Con- 
siderable excitement  was  caused  by  the  discovery,  both 
here  and  in  England,  where  the  opposition  assailed  the 
course  of  the  Governor-General  as  treacherous  and  of  a 
hostile  tendency.  It  cannot  be  said  that  the  mission 
of  Henry  was  in  violation  of  international  usage,  though 
it  certainly  was  not  a  friendly  act.  The  matter  would 
hardly  be  worth  mentioning,  but  for  the  notoriety 
which  the  whole  affair  assumed  to  exist  as  to  the  disaf- 
fection of  the  New  England  States,  and  the  intimation 


224 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


it  conveyed  of  a  possible  antagonism  between  the  two 
sections  of  the  country  in  the  event  of  war. 

On  April  1st  the  President  sent  to  Congress  a  confi- 
dential message^  recommending  an  embargo  for  sixty 
days.  This^  as  preliminary  to  a  declaration  of  war,  was 
a  sound  and  sensible  measure,  differing  widely  from  Mr. 
Jefferson^s  embargo,  as  a  policy  of  negotiation.  On  May 
18th,  the  Republican  caucus  was  held  for  the  nomina- 
tion of  candidates  for  the  seventh  presidential  election. 
Mr.  Madison  was  unanimously  renominated,  Elbridge 
Madison's  re-  Gerry,  of  Massachusetts,  being  named  as 
nomination,  yicc-president  with  him.  Here  we  have  to 
note  the  familiar  charge  that  Mr.  Madison,  who  had 
been  known  to  be  strongly  disposed  to  peace,  accepted 
war  as  the  condition  of  his  renomination.  This  is  one 
of  those  charges  which  are  certain  under  such  circum- 
stances to  be  made  ;  but  which  can  neither  be  proved 
nor  disproved.  Probably  Mr.  Madison  could  not  have 
told  how  far  he  was  influenced  by  the  fact  that  his  sup- 
porters were  resolutely  bent  on  resenting  the  aggressions 
of  Great  Britain.  At  the  same  time  it  is  to  be  said  that 
Mr.  Madison^'s  own  previous  declarations  gave  a  high 
degree  of  probability  to  the  charge  of  being  thus  influ- 
enced.   Mr.  Madison  was,  in  due  course,  elected. 

A  fortnight  later,  i.e.,  on  June  1st,  the  President  sent 
in  another  confidential  message,  recommending  war. 

War  with  ^'oremost  among  the  causes  mentioned  was 
En^Jand  de-  the  impressment  of  our  seamen.  Next  came 
the  blockades,  in  violation  of  the  accepted 
rules  and  definitions  of  international  law,  persisted  in 
after  the  French  had  withdrawn  the  decrees  by  which 
the  English  government  had  sought  to  justify  its  own 
acts.  Finally,  the  President  expressed  the  belief  that 
the  recent  renewal  of  hostilities  by  the  northwestern 
Indians  was  due  to  British  instigation.    Meanwhile  a 


THE  CONTROVERSY  WITH  ENGLAND  225 

fresh  correspondence  was  going  on  between  Mr.  Monroe 
and  the  British  minister  at  Washington,  covering  the 
whole  ground  at  issue  between  the  two  countries.  No 
result,  however,  could  be  reached  so  long  as  the  United 
States  insisted  upon  regarding  the  announcement  to 
General  Armstrong  as  sufficient  evidence  of  the  repeal 
of  the  offensive  decrees  ;  while  the  English  government 
looked  upon  this  as  a  deceitful  declaration.^^  Just  in 
this  crisis  of  affairs  information  was  received  of  the  full 
and  unconditional  revocation  of  the  Berlin  and  Milan 
decrees  by  Napoleon.  The  order  making  the  revocation 
was  dated  nearly  a  year  previous.  It  was  naturally 
charged  that  this  was  a  trick,  the  order  having  been 
called  out  by  the  exigency  which  had  arisen  in  the 
United  States,  and  having  been  dated  back  to  make 
good  the  assertions  of  our  government  in  respect  to  the 
action  of  France.  It  would  seem,  now,  as  if  a  little 
time  should  have  been  given  to  ascertain  what  England 
would  do ;  whether  she  would  revoke  her  Orders  in 
Council  since  France  had  recalled  her  decrees.  It  did 
not,  however,  suit  party  purposes  to  await  the  action  of 
England,  and  June  18,  1812,  war  was  declared.  The 
vote  on  the  final  passage  was  19  to  13  in  the  Senate,  and 
79  to  49  in  the  House  of  Eepresentatives.  The  division 
was  largely  on  sectional  lines.  Fourteen  of  the  nineteen 
senators  voting  for  the  declaration  lived  south  of  the 
Delaware  River;  sixty-two  of  the  seventy-nine  repre- 
sentatives who  constituted  the  majority  came  from  the 
same  region. 

Before  adjournment  the  federalist  members  pub- 
lished an  address  to  the  people,  which  strongly  arrayed 
the  reasons  against  war  and  vindicated  their  rpy^g  Federal- 
course  in  opposing  the  declaration.  It  was  ist  protest, 
charged  that  the  war  had  been  urged  on  by  party  con- 
siderations ;  that  the  conquest  of  Canada,  and  not  redress 
15 


226 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


for  alleged  injuries,  was  the  real  object  in  view.  It  waa 
asserted  that  the  acts  of  the  British  government  in  re- 
spect to  impressment  were  accordant  with  the  usages  of 
all  the  governments  of  Europe,  including  France ;  and 
that  England  had  shown  an  earnest  disposition  to  effect 
an  amicable  adjustment  of  this  vexed  subject,  having,  in 
1802,  made  an  offer  to  renounce  the  right  of  impressing 
American  seamen,  whether  native  or  naturalized  Eng- 
lishmen, upon  the  high  seas,  only  retaining  the  right  upon 
the  narrow  seas  ;  the  ministry,  on  another  occasion,  hav- 
ing offered  to  pass  laws  making  it  penal  for  British  com- 
manders to  impress  American  citizens  upon  the  high 
seas,  provided  the  United  States  would  pass  laws  making 
it  penal  for  its  officers  to  grant  certificates  of  citizenship 
to  British  subjects.  The  address  undertook  to  show 
that  the  blockade  of  1806  was  at  first  accepted  by  our 
government  as  favorable  to  the  United  States.  In  proof 
it  was  alleged  that  when  Mr.  Jefferson^s  administration, 
in  1808,  offered  to  repeal  the  embargo  upon  certain  con- 
ditions, the  withdrawal  of  the  blockade  was  not  one  of 
them ;  nor  was  this  made  a  part  of  the  negotiations  with 
Mr.  Erskine  in  1809.  The  address  further  dwelt  on  the 
matter  already  adduced,  to  show  that  the  Berlin  and 
Milan  decrees  had  not  been  in  good  faith  and  fully  re- 
voked. This  address  was  signed  by  thirty-four  members 
of  the  House  of  Representatives,  all  federalists — nine- 
teen from  New  England  ;  six  from  New  York,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  Delaware  ;  nine  from  Maryland,  Virginia,  and 
North  Carolina.  Fifteen  republicans  had  voted  against 
the  declaration,  eleven  of  them  being  from  New  York 
and  New  Jersey ;  one,  each,  from  Massachusetts,  Penn- 
sylvania, Virginia,  and  North  Carolina. 

But  though  war  was  declared,  negotiations  were  not 
yet  concluded.  Soon  after  the  declaration  the  British 
minister  left  for  London,  bearing  a  letter  from  Mr.  Mon- 


THE  CONTROVERSY  WITH  ENGLAND 


227 


roe  to  our  charge  at  the  court  of  St.  James,  instructing 
him  to  propose  an  armistice  upon  certain  conditions, 
which  were  made  more  liberal  by  a  second  letter. 
Meanwhile  the  news  was  travelling  across  the  Atlantic 
that  England  had,  on  June  23d,  only  five  days  after  the 
declaration,  revoked  her  Orders  in  Council.  To  detail 
the  miserable  contretemps  and  misunderstandings  by 
which  the  two  nations,  which  had  thus  reduced  their 
causes  of  quarrel  from  two  to  one,  about  which  both 
parties  professed  to  be  anxious  to  reach  a  satisfactory 
adjustment,  allowed  themselves  to  go  on  to  actual  hos- 
tilities, would  occupy  more  time  than  we  can  spare. 
The  Atlantic  cable  would  in  all  probability  have  made 
war  impossible.  As  it  was,  with  the  tedious  communi- 
cations of  that  day,  our  government  professed  to  fear 
that  awaiting  negotiations  would  enable  Eng-  failure  of 
land  to  fortify  Canada  and  give  time  for  the  fQ^^^e^ce 
Indians,  who  had  taken  the  British  side,  to 
commit  wholesale  ravages  on  our  settlements.  And  so, 
after  one  or  two  abortive  attempts  of  the  two  govern- 
ments to  get  together,  hostilities  commenced.  The 
history  of  the  war  of  1812  is  not  an  entertaining  one  for 
Americans  ;  yet  it  will  not  be  from  an  excess  of  patriotic 
sensibility  that  we  shall  make  our  account  of  it  very 
short,  but  because  there  is  little  in  it  which  belongs  to 
the  story  of  American  political  development. 

The  war  opened  with  an  evil  omen,  for  the  first  blood 
shed  was  that  of  Americans,  spilled  in  miserable  civil 
strife.  One  Hanson  had  set  up  in  Baltimore  Hanson 
a  paper  opposed  to  the  administration  and  to  riot  in  Baiti- 
the  war  policy.  This  so  exasperated  some  of 
the  ^^lewd  fellows  of  the  baser  sort  that  they  destroyed 
Hanson^s  printing-office  and  presses,  and  for  a  time  put 
a  stop  to  his  enterprise.  A  few  weeks  later,  however, 
he  resumed  publication,  this  time  under  the  protection 


228 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


of  some  prominent  federalists,  among  them  two  distin^ 
guished  revolutionary  officers.  General  Lingan  and  Gen- 
eral Harry  Lee,  the  latter  famous  for  the  eulogy  on 
Washington,  pronounced  before  Congress,  in  which  oc- 
curred the  words,  first  in  war,  first  in  peace,  and  first 
in  the  hearts  of  his  countrymen/^  A  mob  having  at- 
tacked Hanson^s  office  by  night,  these  gentlemen  with  a 
small  party  conducted  a  desperate  defence,  which  was 
only  relinquished  upon  the  assurance  of  the  Mayor  that 
they  should  be  given  a  legal  trial  for  the  deaths  which 
had  occurred,  with  full  protection  meanwhile.  Having 
surrendered  upon  this  promise,  the  defenders  were  sub- 
jected to  the  most  cowardly  indignities  while  on  their 
way  to  prison.  The  night  following,  the  prison  was 
broken  open  by  armed  men  ;  General  Lingan  was  beaten 
to  death  ;  General  Lee  was  crippled  for  life  ;  and  their 
comrades  were  subjected  to  abuse  and  torture  of  the 
most  monstrous  character.  The  very  spirit  of  hell  was 
manifested  by  the  ruffians,  who  worked  their  mischief 
under  the  eye  of  the  Mayor  and  the  commander  of  the 
city  militia.  At  last,  upon  the  mob  threatening  to  break 
open  the  United  States  post-office,  in  order  to  seize  the 
copies  of  the  offending  publications  which  had  been  de- 
posited in  the  mails,  the  authorities  actively  intervened  ; 
and  the  riot  was  quelled.  But  the  prosecutions  insti- 
tuted against  the  perpetrators  of  these  crimes  complete- 
ly failed  through  the  culpable  delinquency  of  the  At- 
torney-General, who  openly  expressed  his  regret  that 
every  person  concerned  in  the  defence  of  Hanson^s  house 
had  not  been  killed,  and  refused  to  demand  a  change  of 
venue  ;  while  the  city  council,  after  a  professed  investi- 
gation of  the  affair,  laid  the  whole  blame  upon  Hanson, 
who  had  presumed  to  publish  a  paper  not  agreeable  to 
the  rioters,  and  upon  his  friends  who  had  defended  him 
from  murder  and  arson.    There  is  little  doubt  that  the 


THE  CONTROVEKSY  WITH  ENGLAISTD  229 

Baltimore  riot  was  welcomed  by  many  hot-headed  parti- 
sans of  the  war  in  other  sections  of  the  country,  as  likely 
to  exert  a  wholesome  effect  in  deterring  federalists  from 
the  public  expression  of  their  views.  To  the  honor  of 
the  people  of  Maryland,  it  should  be  mentioned  that 
this  dastardly  outrage  worked  a  complete  political  revo- 
lution in  the  State,  which  at  the  next  election  went 
federalist  by  a  large  majority,  Hanson  himself  being 
sent  to  Congress,  where,  it  may  be  added,  he  did  not 
distinguish  himself  by  patriotism  or  good  sense.  Mar- 
tyrsof  that  sort  rarely  do. 


CHAPTER  XII 


THE  WAR  OF  1813-15 

Our  Remarkable  Success  on  the  Ocean — The  Privateers — Ignomin- 
ious Failure  on  Land — Our  Naval  Victories  Accounted  for — Com- 
parative Strength  of  the  Belligerents — The  Invasion  of  Canada 
Collapses — Perry's  Victory  on  Lake  Erie — Further  Disasters  on 
the  Canada  Line — Creditable  Actions  under  Brown  and  Scott 
— McDonough's  Victory  on  Lake  Champlain — Burning  of 
Washington  —  Successful  Defence  of  Baltimore  —  Jackson's 
Victories  at  the  South — Battle  of  New  Orleans — The  Treaty  of 
Peace — The  Objects  of  the  War  not  Mentioned — Opposition  to 
the  War — Mr.  Jefferson  Believed  to  be  Hostile  to  Commercial 
Interests — His  Remarkable  Political  Economy — Alleged  Trea- 
sonable Acts  in  New  England— Refusal  of  the  Governors  of 
Massachusetts  and  Connecticut  to  Allow  the  Militia  to  March — 
The  Hartford  Convention:  Its  Personnel ;  Popular  Denuncia- 
tion of  the  Convention :  The  Actual  Work  of  the  Conven- 
tion :  Suggested  Amendments  to  the  Constitution  ;  Nullifying 
Measures  Proposed  ;  Constitutional  Objections  to  any  such 
Gathering — The  Terms  of  Peace :  The  Fisheries :  The  Gen- 
eral Neutrality  Law — Coercion  of  the  Barbary  States — The  In- 
dian Allies  of  Great  Britain. 

If  those  are  in  the  right  who  charge  that  the  adminis- 
tration of  Mr.  Madison  provoked  war,  not  to  redress  our 
wrongs  upon  the  ocean,  but  to  gain  glory  and  territory 
by  the  conquest  of  Canada,*  then  the  general  results  of 
the  war  would  seem  to  show  the  most  remarkable  dis- 
crimination upon  the  part  of  Providence  in  apportioning 
honor  and  shame,  success  and  failure,  according  to  the 
direction  in  which  our  efforts  were  put  forth.  Upon 

*  "  The  cession  of  Canada,  the  fulcrum  for  these  Machiavellian  levers, 
must  be  a  si7ie  qua  noii  at  a  treaty  of  peace  "  (Jeff.,  vi.,  70,  cf.  78). 


THE  WAR  OF  1812-15 


231 


the  ocean^  our  little  navy  of  eight  or  ten  frigates  and  as 
many  sloops  and  brigs,  was,  in  anything  like  equal  com- 
bat, almost  uniformly  victorious.  The  nation  which 
had  learned  to  think  itself  invincible  on  the  ocean, 
mistress  of  the  seas,^^  was  astonished  to  find  its  vessels 
of  war  beaten  and  captured  by  hastily  built  and  rudely 
equipped  ships,  manned  by  sailors  taken  from  the  fish- 
ing fleets  of  New  Bedford,  Marblehead,  and  Gloucester. 
Again  and  again  the  flag  of  England  went  down  before 
the  fire  of  our  extemporized  gunners,  commanded  by 
such  heroes  as  Hull,  Jones,  Porter,  Bainbridge,  and  De- 
catur. It  is  true  these  brilliant  successes  did  not  give 
us  the  command  even  of  our  own  waters  ;  our  remark 
and  that,  when  the  British  squadrons  finally  able  success 

j>      j>  '     I  n«  ,011  the  water. 

closed  m,  our  lew  frigates  were  driven  under 
cover  of  the  guns  of  the  forts,  or  fell  into  the  hands 
of  the  enemy  through  an  overwhelming  superiority  of 
force,  while  our  coast  was  ravaged  from  Maine  to  Vir- 
ginia. Not  the  less  did  these  gallant  exploits  raise  the 
fame  of  the  American  nation  all  over  the  world,  and  go 
far  to  redeem  the  failures  and  disgraces  of  the  war. 
Twice,  upon  the  Lakes,  hastily  built  squadrons,  under 
Perry  and  McDonough,  defeated  superior  forces  of  the 
enemy,  and  compelled  the  retreat  of  formidable  armies. 
Kemarkable  as  were  the  achievements  of  our  national 
vessels,  these  were  equalled,  if  not  surpassed,  by  the 
enterprise,  audacity,  and  resourcefulness  of  the  private 
armed  vessels  which,  under  cover  of  letters  of  marque, 
poured  forth  from  all  the  seaports  of  the  Atlantic,  from 
Machias  to  Baltimore,  and  swiftly  and  terribly  avenged 
the  wrongs  to  which  the  merchantmen  of  the  United 
States  had  been  helplessly  subjected  during  rjy-^^  priva- 
twenty  years.  American  privateers, free 
lances  on  the  ocean,  commanded  by  men  of  the  ut- 
most daring,  manned  by  powerful  crews  of  expert  and 


232 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


hardy  seamen^  largely  fishermen  from  Newfoundland 
and  the  banks  of  St.  George,  worked  havoc  with  the 
commerce  of  England,  and  did  not  hesitate  upon  occa- 
sion to  match  themselves  against  the  royal  cruisers.  It 
is  stated  that  during  the  three  years  of  the  war  seven- 
teen hundred  British  ships  were  captured.  The  cul- 
mination of  the  achievements  of  the  privateers  was  when 
the  brig  General  Armstrong,  lying  at  Fayal,  beat  off, 
with  terrible  slaughter,  the  boats  of  three  British  war- 
vessels. 

On  the  other  hand,  our  ambitious  enterprises  against 
Canada  were  in  the  main  characterized  by  blundering 
Ignominious  incompetence  on  the  part  of  our  generals, 
failure  on  land.  often  by  misconduct  and  seeming 

cowardice  on  the  part  of  the  troops  engaged.  Alto- 
gether our  efforts  in  that  direction  were  not  only  futile, 
but  humiliated  us  at  home  and  disgraced  us  abroad. 
So  it  came  about  that  many  persons  who  doubted  the 
good  faith  of  the  administration  in  going  to  war,  were 
much  disposed  to  see,  in  the  distribution  of  success  and 
failure,  as  between  the  sea,  where  we  had  undoubtedly 
suffered  wrong,  and  the  land,  where  these  persons 
deemed  us  the  aggressors,  something  in  the  nature  of 
divine  retribution. 

More  strictly  natural  causes  may,  however,  be  assigned 
for  our  differing  fortunes  by  land  and  by  sea.  If  there 
Our  naval  work  or  knowledge  or  device  under  the 

counted^ for^'  which  the  siuglc  quality  of  gump- 

tion tells,  it  is  in  working  and  fighting  a 
ship  ;  and  if  there  ever  was  a  people  who  pre-eminently 
possessed  that  quality,  it  was  the  northern  half  of  the 
American  people,  in  the  time  of  which  we  are  speaking. 
Our  ships  were  worked  by  volunteers,  all  good  seamen, 
hot  for  fight  and  eager  for  prizes ;  all  of  them  natural 
mechanics,  quick  to  spread  or  take  in  sail,  quick  to  cut 


THE  WAR  OF  1812-15 


233 


away  the  wreckage  of  battle  and  to  rig  masts  or  put  out 
spars  to  draw  their  vessels  out  of  fire.  Our  ships,  too, 
were  more  liberally  manned  than  the  English.  It  ought 
not  to  be  a  matter  of  surprise,  therefore,  that  the  steady 
discipline,  unflinching  courage,  and  bulldog  tenacity  of 
the  English  sailors  did  not  carry  the  day  against  the 
adroitness,  adaptability,  suppleness,  and  fertility  of  re- 
source which  characterize  the  Yankee,  and  pre-emi- 
nently the  Yankee  sailor.  On  the  other  hand,  our  land 
forces  were  composed  largely  of  fresh  levies,  through 
the  traditional  policy  of  the  Kepublican  party,  which 
had  discouraged  the  increase  of  the  regular  army.  The 
rank  and  file  were  men  of  generous  strain  enough,  but 
they  were  new  to  the  business  ;  they  were  not  well  dis- 
ciplined ;  they  had  little  confidence  in  themselves,  and 
in  the  majority  of  cases,  and  with  better  reason,  less 
confidence  in  their  officers.  Then,  again  (which  has  a 
great  deal  to  do  with  this  question  of  courage  or  cow- 
ardice), being  inland  and  with  land  behind,  they  could 
run  away,  which  sailors  cannot  do. 

The  census  of  1810  had  shown  the  population  of  the 
United  States  to  be  about  seven  and  a  quarter  millions, 
while  the  population  of  the  United  King-  compara- 
dom  was  eighteen  and  a  half  millions.  But  of thebem|er^ 
this  difference  in  numbers  does  not  fully  ex-  ents. 
press  the  difference  in  strength  and  resources.  England 
was  a  rich  and  powerful  nation,  packed  with  the  accu- 
mulations of  successful  industry.  By  the  side  of  every 
Englishman  employed  in  her  mills  or  mines  or  on  her 
figld^^worked  one,  two,  three  laborers,  asking  no  wages, 
costing  nothing  for  their  support,  representing  the 
power  of  past  production — capital.  To  this  people  were 
tributary  scores  of  millions  of  human  beings,  in  all  quar- 
ters of  the  globe,  whose  industry  and  trade  were  despot- 
ically controlled  so  as  to  yield  the  largest  possible  tax  to 


234 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


the  public  and  private  revenues  of  Great  Britain.  This 
nation,  moreover,  with  such  power  and  resources,  was 
organized  for  war.  Her  army  was  large,  compact,  and 
highly  disciplined.  Her  fleets,  though  no  longer  com- 
manded by  Nelson,  were  the  terror  of  the  seas.  There 
is  no  doubt  that,  comparing  the  two  nations  with  each 
other,  as  to  their  offensive  power  upon  neutral,  interme- 
diate ground,  had  such  existed.  Great  Britain  would 
have  been  as  five  to  one.  It  is  true  that,  on  our  chosen 
battlefield,  Canada,  we  had  the  advantage  of  proximity. 
On  the  other  hand.  Great  Britain  enjoyed  there  the  pos- 
session of  many  strongholds.  What,  then,  made  it  less 
than  madness  for  us  to  enter  upon  the  War  of  1812  ? 
We  answer,  the  fact  that  England  was  still  engaged  with 
her  great  enemy.  Napoleon,  upon  the  continent  of  Eu- 
rope. Although  the  disasters  of  successive  Spanish 
campaigns  had  already  befallen  that  aspiring  conqueror, 
Russia  and  Moscow  were  still  to  come.  Had  it  been 
1813  instead  of  1812,  we  should  scarcely  have  declared 
war.  Had  it  been  1814,  we  should  have  had  no  occasion 
to  declare  war,  for  the  questions  at  issue  would  then 
have  disappeared  of  themselves. 

We  had  refused  to  delay  hostilities  lest  we  should  lose 
the  advantage  we  assumed  we  had  in  invading  Canada  * 
before  she  was  fully  prepared.  ^Ye  were  now  to  find  out 
how  contemptible  were  the  dispositions  of  the  govern- 
ment for  the  conquest  of  this  territory,  how  destitute 
of  all  administrative  efficiency  was  Mr.  Madison,  and 
how  great  was  the  incompetence  of  our  commanders. 
In  July,  less  than  a  month  after  the  declaration.  Gen- 
eral Hull,  Governor  of  Michigan  Territory,  crossed  from 
Detroit  into  Canada.    In  August,  without  striking  a 

*In  the  debate  on  the  Non-intercourse  Act  of  1806,  Mr.  Crownin- 
Bhield,  of  Massachusetts,  confidently  asserted  the  ability  of  the  militia  of 
Vermont  and  Massachusetts,  alone,  to  capture  Canada  and  Nova  Scotia 


THE  WAR  OF  1812-15 


235 


blow^  he  surrendered  to  General  Brock.  This  invasion 
of  Canada  was  over.  At  once  we  were  put  on  the  de- 
fensive.   The  British  occupied  the  whole  of  . 

^  The  1  n  V  a- 

Michigan,  and  pressed  our  troops,  now  com-  wonof^cana- 
manded  by  General  William  Henry  Harrison,  coUapses. 
afterward  President,  in  their  efforts  to  capture  Ohio. 
In  January,  1813,  a  detachment  of  Kentucky  troops  un- 
der Winchester  surrendered  at  Frenchtown,  on  the  river 
Kaisin  ;  and  during  April  and  May,  and  again  in  July, 
our  forces  stood  siege  at  Fort  Meigs,  on  the  Maumee. 

Nothing,  seemingly,  saved  Ohio  but  our  quickly  raised 
fleet  on  Lake  Erie.  On  the  10th  of  September,  1813, 
Lieutenant  Oliver  Hazard  Perry,  of  the  United    _    ,  . 

^  Perry's  vic- 

States  Navy,  then  twenty-seven  years  of  age^  ^ry  on  Lake 
leading  a  motley  crowd  of  vessels,  all  but  two 
of  which  had  been  hastily  converted  from  peaceful  to 
warlike  purposes,  engaged  the  British  squadron,  of 
slightly  superior  force  as  respected  men  and  guns,  led 
by  an  officer  who  had  served  under  Nelson  at  Trafalgar, 
and,  by  pure  force  of  pluck  and  brains,  won  a  complete 
victory,  capturing  the  entire  force  of  the  enemy.  This 
action  saved  Ohio  and  recovered  the  greater  part  of 
Michigan.  General  Harrison,  in  command  of  the  lake, 
was  able  to  throw  troops  upon  the  enemy^s  lines  of  com- 
munication, compelling  the  evacuation  of  Detroit.  In 
his  pursuit.  General  Harrison  brought  on  a  battle,  upon 
the  banks  of  the  Thames,  in  which  the  famous  Indian 
ally  of  the  British,  Tecumseh,  was  slain. 

So  much  for  the  operations  on  the  Michigan  end 
of  the  line.  On  the  New  York  frontier  General  Van 
Kensselaer  was  in  command  of  the  Ameri-    ^  ^. 

Further  dis- 

can  forces.  In  October,  1812,  he  crossed  and  asters  on  the 
attacked  Queenstown,  but  was  driven  back 
and  a  portion  of  his  force  captured.     The  British 
commander.  Brock,  was  killed.   General  Van  Rensselaer 


236 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


resigned  immediately  after.  In  the  spring  of  1813 
General  Henry  Dearborn,  who  had  been  Secretary  of 
War  under  Jefferson,  took  Toronto,  then  York,  burn- 
ing the  Parliament  House  and  captured  the  forts  on 
the  Niagara  Eiver.  Dearborn  having  been  relieved. 
Generals  Wilkinson  and  Hampton  undertook  a  cam- 
paign against  Montreal,  which  resulted  in  shameful  fail- 
ure. Meanwhile  we  were  driven  out  of  Fort  George' ; 
and  our  commander  retired  to  the  American  side, 
burning  the  village  of  Newark.  During  the  winter 
the  British  crossed  in  turn,  captured  Fort  Niagara, 
which  they  held  to  the  close  of  the  war,  and  swept 
the  country  with  fire  and  sword  as  far  as  Buffalo. 
In  the  spring  of  1814  General  Wilkinson  again  left  his 
quarters,  only  to  make  another  exhibition  of  helpless 
imbecility.  And  thus  we  come  to  the  third  year  of  the 
war  in  which  Canada  was  to  be  conquered  and  glory 
gained  to  the  administration  :  nothing  done  but  what 
the  navy  had  done ;  much  suffered,  both  of  loss  and 
of  disgrace.  Hereafter  the  operations  on  the  Canada 
line  were  destined  to  be  less  discreditable  to  the  Ameri- 
can arms,  though  still  wholly  fruitless. 

The  British  forces  were  now  greatly  strengthened  by 
arrivals  from  Europe,  the  fall  of  Napoleon  having  en- 
abled the  government  to  send  hither  a  large  body  of 
veterans,  under  eminent  officers.  On  the  American 
side  our  troops  were  settling  down  more  and  more  to  the 
real  business  of  war  ;  while  they  were  rid  of  the  genera- 
tion of  incompetents  who  had  thrown  away  the  royal 
opportunity  afforded  them  when  England  was  engaged 
in  its  deadly  struggle  on  the  Continent.  Younger 
commanders  of  merit  were  coming  to  the  front,  as  has 
to  be  the  case  in  nearly  every  war  before  success  be- 
comes possible.  Major-General  Jacob  Brown,  afterward 
Commander-in-Chief  of  the  United  States  Army,  who 


THE  WAR  OF  1812-15 


237 


had  distingnished  himself  in  the  defence  of  Sacketf s 
Harbor,  in  1813,  had  succeeded  to  the  command  of  our 
forces  on  the  frontier.  With  him  was  Colo-  creditable 
nel  Winfield  Scott,  also  destined  to  become  in  Br  o  w  n^^an^d 
time  General-in-Chief.  On  the  2d  of  July,  ^cott. 
having  crossed  to  the  Canada  side.  Brown  took  Fort 
Erie ;  and  three  days  later,  at  Chippewa  defeated  the 
enemy  under  General  Eiall.  The  latter,  having  been 
reinforced  by  Drummond,  pushed  back  our  column  ; 
and  on  the  25th  of  July  was  fought  the  fiercely  con- 
tested action  of  Lundy^s  Lane,  within  the  roar  of  Niag- 
ara. The  American  forces  were  successful  upon  the 
field ;  but  were  obliged  to  fall  back  to  Fort  Erie,  where 
they  stood  siege  (under  General  Gaines,  Brown  having 
been  wounded)  until  September,  when  Fort  Erie  was 
blown  up  and  abandoned. 

Meanwhile  an  action  had  been  fought  on  Lake  Cham- 
plain  which  added  much  to  the  credit  of  the  American 
name.  The  British  General  Prevost,  with  McDon- 
12,000  regular  troops,  supported  by  a  squad-  oSf'aLchaiS 
ron,  attacked  Plattsburg ;  but  before  the  p^^^^- 
land  forces  could  fairly  engage  each  other  (our  infan- 
try being  much  inferior  in  numbers),  Captain  McDon- 
ough,  commanding  the  American  squadron  upon  the 
lake,  brought  to  utter  defeat  the  superior  naval  force 
of  the  enemy,  involving  the  precipitate  retreat  of  Pre- 
vost and  putting  a  stop  to  all  projects  for  invading  the 
territory  of  the  United  States  from  that  quarter.  And 
this  was  how  we  took  Canada  in  the  War  of  1812. 

Turn  we  now  to  other  quarters,  where  the  British 
forces  were  pushing  strongly  against  us,  with  full  and 
fell  determination  to  punish  the  insolence  of  the  young 
republic.  By  the  close  of  1813  we  had  scarcely  a  vessel 
on  the  water.  Our  gallant  cruisers  had  been  driven 
under  cover  of  the  forts  or  captured  by  the  powerful 


238  THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 

squadrons  closing  in  upon  our  coasts.  From  Macliias 
to  Alexandria  our  harbors  were  blockaded  and  our 
towns  and  villages  burned.  The  barbarities  of  the 
English  fleet,  under  distinct  orders  to  destroy  and  lay 
waste  all  towns  and  districts  of  the  United  States,  found 
accessive  to  the  attack  of  the  British  armaments/^  were 
doubtless  an  unwarrantable  extension  of  the  ravages 
of  war  ;  but  we  must  not  fail  to  remember  the  burning 
of  Newark  and  of  the  Parliament  House  at  Toronto. 

Burning  of  August,  1814,  two  powcrful  flccts,  uudcr 
DeTe nc^e^of  Admirals  Cockburn  and  Cochrane,  occupied 
Baltimore.  Chesapeake  and  the  Potomac,  and  landed 

a  detachment  of  troops,  under  General  Ross,  which 
marched  on  Washington.  At  Bladensburg,  five  or  six 
miles  from  the  capital,  the  British  put  to  disgraceful 
rout  the  militia  which  had  been  assembled  to  oppose 
them.  The  day  following,  the  public  buildings,  in- 
cluding the  Capitol  and  the  President's  mansion,  were 
plundered  and  burned,  whereupon  the  British  troops 
retired.  There  was  worse  fortune  for  the  invaders 
when  they  appeared,  two  weeks  later,  before  Baltimore. 
At  the  battle  of  North  Point  the  American  forces, 
though  ultimately  obliged  to  retire,  gallantly  held 
their  ground.  General  Ross,  the  British  commander, 
being  killed ;  and  upon  the  fleet  moving  up  to  attack 
Fort  McHenry,  the  defence  was  so  spirited  that  the 
British  withdrew  with  loss.  It  is  to  the  bombardment 
of  Fort  McHenry,  upon  this  occasion,  that  the  Star- 
Spangled  Banner    has  reference. 

Let  us  once  more  shift  our  place,  this  time  to  the 
scene  of  operations  in  the  Southwest,  where  we  may  see 
the  last  of  the  War  of  1813.  It  has  been  noted  that 
the  Northwest  Indians,  under  Tecumseh,  had  made 
themselves  the  allies  of  the  British.  In  1813  the  Creeks 
at  the  South  rose  in  arms,  and,  after  inflicting  severe 


THE  WAR  OF  1812-15 


239 


loss  upon  onr  volunteers,  were  brought  to  extremity 
and  routed  with  terrible  slaughter  at  Tohopeka^,  March 
27,  1814,  by  General  Andrew  Jackson,  of     ,  , 

^  ^     J  .  Jack  s  o  n's 

Tennessee,  a  man  new  to  fame  but  possessing  J^^^^^^j^^j^^ 
extraordinary  qualities  as  a  leader  of  men, 
whether  in  war  or  in  peace.  This  victory  led  to  the 
submission  of  the  Creeks  and  the  cession  of  the  larger 
part  of  their  lands.  In  the  fall  of  the  same  year  we 
find  General  Jackson  operating  against  the  British 
forces  in  the  direction  of  Pensacola  and  Mobile.  A 
little  later,  the  British,  in  heavy  force  of  veteran  troops, 
advanced  to  the  attack  upon  New  Orleans.  On  the 
23d  of  December,  Jackson,  with  a  far  inferior  force  of 
raw  troops,  made  a  successful  night-attack  upon  the 
British  camp,  inflicting  considerable  loss.  On  the 
8th  of  January,  1815,  General  Pakenham,  commanding 
the  invading  forces,  attacked  Jackson^s  position  cover- 
ing New  Orleans,  but  was  repelled  with  great  slaughter, 
Pakenham  and  his  second  in  command  being  killed. 

The  battle  of  New  Orleans  was  in  all  respects  a  very 
remarkable  action.  When  it  was  fought,  England  and 
the  United  States  were  at  peace,  a  treaty  The  treaty  of 
having  been  signed  at  Ghent,  in  the  iJecem-  p®^^®* 
ber  previous,  by  the  commissioners  of  the  two  powers. 
The  objects  of  the  war  on  the  part  of  the  United  States 
were  not  even  mentioned.  The  rights  of  neutral  trade 
were  not  defined  in  the  treaty.  England  did  not  with- 
draw her  claims  to  the  right  of  impressment ;  and  the 
status  quo  was  stipulated  as  to  territory.  A  week  later 
the  President  recommended  the  navigation  of  Ameri- 
can vessels  exclusively  by  American  seamen,  either  na- 
tives or  such  as  had  been  naturalized.  But  while  thus, 
so  far  as  appears  by  the  treaty  of  peace,  the  United 
States  obtained  nothing  for  which  it  had  fought,  the 
issues  as  to  neutral  rights  and  impressment  had,  of 


240 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  KATION 


themselves^  sunk  out  of  all  practical  importance,  in  the 
course  of  events.  As  war  had  ceased  in  Europe,  there 
was  no  longer  any  question  of  neutral  rights  ;  while  the 
wholesale  reduction  of  the  English  navy,  upon  the  con- 
clusion of  peace,  made  it  no  longer  necessary  to  resort 
to  impressment  to  man  its  ships. 


We  have  thus  far  confined  our  account  of  the  War  of 
1812  to  its  purely  military  features,  in  order  that  we 
might  get  a  connected  view  of  the  whole,  without  the 
intrusion  of  the  civil  and  political  embarrassments  of  the 
administration.  In  point  of  fact,  the  conduct  of  the 
war  was  greatly  interfered  with  by  the  persistent  op- 
Oppoeition  to  positiou  of  the  federalist  party,  which  still 

the  war.  controlled  the  commercial  States.  These 
States  had  opposed  the  embargo,  and  still  hated  its 
memory  and  execrated  its  author.  They  believed  that 
Mr.  Jefferson's  policy  was  dictated  by  a  desire  to  estab- 
lish, in  his  own  words,  an  equilibrium  between  the  oc- 
cupations of  agriculture,  manufactures,  and  commerce, 
which  shall  simplify  our  foreign  concerns  to  the  ex- 
change of  that  surplus  which  we  cannot  consume  for 
those  articles  of  reasonable  comfort  or  convenience 
which  we  cannot  produce. If  these  persons  misunder- 
stood Mr.  Jefferson  in  this  respect,  it  was  his  fault,  not 
theirs.  His  writings  abound  in  expressions  of  reluct- 
ance to  see  the  United  States  become  a  commercial  na- 
tion ;  and  upon  retiring  from  the  presidency  we  find 
him  congratulating  his  countrymen  (as  represented  by 
the  Democratic-Kepublican  delegates  from  the  town- 
ships of  Washington  County,  Penn.)  upon  the  fact 
that,  if  the  embargo  laws  ^'^had  not  had  all  the  effect  in 
bringing  the  powers  of  Europe  to  a  sense  of  justice 


THE  WAR  OF  1812-15 


241 


which  a  more  faithful  observance  of  them  might  have 
produced/'  they  had  at  least  tended  to  establish  the 
equilibrium  described  above  in  his  own  words  ;  that  is, 
they  had  served  the  interests  of  the  country  by  distress- 
ing, and  in  a  degree  destroying,  that  commerce  which 
other  statesmen  valued  and  sought  to  cherish,  but 
which  he  regarded  as  baleful  and  dangerous. 

Mr.  Jefferson  may  have  been  right  in  his  estimation 
of  general  commerce,  i.e.,  trade  carried  beyond  the  mere 
exchange  of  the  national  surplus  for  articles  jeser. 
destined  to  consumption  by  the  nation  itself  ;  soli's  pouticai 
but  it  can  scarcely  be  a  matter  of  surprise 
that  the  commercial  communities  of  the  North  and 
Northeast,  whose  enterprise  had  developed  an  enormous 

carrying  trade, in  which  their  capital  was  invested 
and  upon  which  their  people  depended  for  subsistence, 
failed  to  take  the  same  view,  or  that  deep  and  bitter 
hatred  was  engendered  by  what  they  deemed  the  wanton 
and  unconstitutional  destruction  of  the  navigation  in- 
terests of  the  country.  The  fact  is,  Mr.  Jefferson  was 
the  most  extravagant  protectionist  ever  placed  in  a  posi- 
tion importantly  to  influence  the  trade  and  industry  of 
a  civilized  nation.  Other  protectionists  have  sought  to 
build  up  manufactures  or  commerce.  Mr.  Jefferson  is 
the  only  one  in  the  range  of  our  reading  who  could  con- 
gratulate himself  and  the  country  upon  the  success  of 
measures  for  the  destruction  of  trade,  as  promoting  the 
harmonious  development  of  national  life.  His  writings 
at  about  the  time  to  which  we  refer  contain  easy-gliding 
descriptions  of  how  the  surplus  commercial  capital  of 
the  Northeast  could  be  diverted  to  other  uses. 

The  embargo,  so  bitterly  opposed  in  New  England, 
was  repealed,  as  we  have  seen,  in  1809  ;  and  three  years 
later  came  the  war,  brought  on,  as  the  same  States  per- 
sisted in  believing,  for  the  purpose  of  strengthening  the 
16 


242  THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


administration  with  the  agricultural  and  planting  sec- 
tions, through  the  enhancement  of  the  prices  of  their 
products,*  and  for  the  glory  of  conquering  and  annex- 
ing Canada.  To  this  end,  their  principal  means  of  sub- 
sistence, trade  and  the  fisheries,  must  again  be  cut  up 
by  the  roots  ;  their  coast  be  ravaged  from  one  end  to 
the  other  ;  their  vessels  rot  at  the  wharves.  It  is  no 
matter  for  wonder  that  the  idea  of  war  was  exceedingly 
obnoxious  to  these  communities  ;  that  their  representa- 
tives opposed  the  declaration  bitterly  to  the  last ;  and 
that  the  continuance  of  hostilities  was  felt  to  be  a  griev- 
ous and  almost  intolerable  affliction.  But  it  is  charged 
that  these  States,  particularly  Massachusetts  and  Con-_ 
ixecticut^  carried  their  rightful  political  opposition  to 
the  war,  as  a  measure  proposed,  over  into  the  war  itself. 
Alleged  a  fact  existing  and  for  the  present  inevit- 
opposftion  \l  ^^1^  5  by  their  public  acts  and  by 

the  wax.  language  and  behavior  of  the  great  body 

of  their  citizens,  they  embarrassed  the  government  in 
the  conduct  of  the  war,  and  gave  aid  and  comfort  to  the 
enemy.  If  the  federalist  party  was  not  guilty  of  this, 
it  was  at  least  the  appearance  of  this  which  destroyed 
the  federalist  party.  Those  who  will  not  be  careful  to 
avoid  the  appearance  of  evil  may  not  complain  if  they 
suffer  the  blame  of  it.  The  language  used  by  the  oppo- 
nents of  the  war  was  extremely  violent.  We  have  seen 
how  the  knowledge  of  disaffection  led  Governor-General 
Craig  to  send  his  emissary  into  New  England,  to  observe 

■'^  To  keep  the  war  popular,  we  must  keep  open  the  markets.  So  long 
as  good  prices  can  be  had,  the  people  will  support  the  war  cheerfully." 
— Jefferson^  vi.,  93. 

That  grain  (wheat)  has  got  to  $2  at  Richmond,  this  is  the  true  ba- 
rometer of  the  popularity  of  the  war." — Jefferson,  vi.,  102. 

Exactly  what  was  to  make  the  war  popular  with  the  people  who  lived 
by  other  means  than  by  raising  wheat  and  tobacco,  Mr.  Jefferson  doea 
not  state. 


THE  WAR  OF  1812-15 


243 


how  far  these  States  might  be  ripe  for  separation  from 
the  rest  of  the  Union.  There  is  reason  to  believe  that 
the  possibility  of  a  rising  in  this  quarter  mingled  with 
the  strictly  military  plans  of  the  British  commanders, 
however  much  or  however  little  ground  there  may  have 
been  for  such  an  expectation.  But  in  addition  to  much 
wild  and  ferocious  talk,  two  distinct  things  *  are  alleged 
against  the  federalist  party  in  New  England. 

The  first  of  these  was  the  refusal  of  the  governors  of 
Connecticut  and  Massachusetts  to  allow  the  militia  of 
their  States  to  march  upon  the  president's 

....  rm  PI  IT         The  militia. 

requisitions.  These  reiusals  were  based  on 
the  assumption  that  no  invasion  was  in  progress ;  and 
that  no  danger  thereof  existed  in  any  such  degree  as  to 
raise  a  constitutional  obligation  to  comply  with  the 
requisitions.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  governors  of  these 
States  made  themselves  judges  of  the  exigency.  It  is 
not  altogether  certain  that,  however  unpatriotic  their 
action  may  be  considered,  they  were  yet  outside  their 
authority  in  so  doing.  The  Constitution  had  author- 
ized Congress  ^''to  provide  for  the  calling  forth  of  the 
militia  to  execute  the  laws  of  the  Union,  suppress  insur- 
rections, and  repel  invasions.^'  Congress  had,  by  the  act 
of  February  28,  1795,  prescribed  the  limits  within  which 
the  executive  might  make  requisitions  for  this  purpose. 
It  is  fairly  a  question  whether  such  a  requisition  from 
the  president  does  anything  more  than  create  an  occa- 
sion which  justifies  a  State  executive  in  calling  out  the 
militia  ;  whether  it  imposes  upon  him  any  legal  duty,  as 
distinguished  from  a  patriotic  obligation.  It  is  still 
more  a  question  whether  the  governors  of  Connecticut 
and  Massachusetts  may  not  have  been  technically,  as 

*  We  take  no  account  of  the  charge  that  false  signals  were  put  up  on 
the  shore  to  mislead  our  vessels  or  betray  them  to  the  enemy.  Those 
tales,  which  gave  rise  to  the  expression  "Blue-light  Federalists,"  are 
too  monstrous  to  be  believed. 


244 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


distinguished  from  morally,  right  in  asserting  that,  ii 
they  officially  knew  that  the  exigency  assumed  in  the 
requisition  did,  in  fact,  not  exist,  it  was  competent  to 
them  to  withhold  compliance  :  in  a  word,  that  they  were 

/rightful  judges  of  the  situation. 
The  second  measure  on  the  part  of  the  New  England 
federalists,  alleged  to  be  of  a  disloyal  if  not  treasonable 
„  ^  nature,  was  the  Hartford  Convention.  This 
fordconven-  famous  gathering  of  the  disaffected  took 
^  *  place  in  December,  1814.    The  idea  of  a 

convention  of  the  States  opposing  the  war  was  started  in 
Massachusetts.  It  was  later  modified  to  the  form  of  a 
Conference  between  the  New  England  States,  action 
upon  subjects  of  a  riational  nature  to  be  left  to  a  future^ 
convention  of  all  the  States.  The  Massachusetts  legis- 
lature appointed  twelve  delegates,  and  invited  other 
New  England  States  to  send  representatives.  Connect- 
icut appointed  seven ;  and  designated  Hartford  as  the 
place  of  meeting.  Rhode  Island  appointed  four.  Two 
counties  in  New  Hampshire  and  one  in  Vermont  ap- 
pointed one  delegate  each.  The  personnel  oi  the  gather- 
ing was  of  the  most  distinguished  character,  as  to  abil- 
ity and  social  position.  The  list  of  the  Massachusetts 
members  will  suffice  :  George  Cabot,  Nathan  Dane, 
William  Prescott,  Harrison  Gray  Otis,  Timothy  Bige- 
low,  Joshua  Thomas,  Stephen  Longfellow,  Jr.,  Daniel 
Waldo.    Mr.  Cabot  was  chosen  president. 

At  the  time,  and  for  many  years  after,  the  Convention 
was  spoken  of  by  the  republicans,  and  their  successors, 
the  democrats,  as  a  treasonable  gathering.  On  the  6th 
of  January,  1817,  General  Jackson,  writing  to  the 
president-elect  (Monroe),  says,  ^^Had  I  commanded  the 
military  department  where  the  Hartford  Convention 
met,  if  it  had  been  the  last  act  of  my  life,  I  should  have 
punished  the  thtee  principal  leaders  of  the  party. 


THE  WAK  OF  1812-15 


245 


Punishing,  with  General  Jackson,  meant  hanging  or 
shooting.  He  was  very  apt  to  say  such  things  ;  and 
what  is  more  to  the  point,  he  was,  as  Arbuthnot  and 
Ambrister  found,  very  apt  to  do  them.    It  ^ 

1  Denun  c  i  a  - 

will  be  remembered  that  he  promised  the  tions  of  the 
leaders  of  the  nullification  movement  of 
1832-33,  that  he  would  hang  them  from  the  walls  of 
the  Capitol.  The  publication  of  the  journal  of  the 
Convention  and  of  a  history  of  its  inception  and  pro- 
ceedings by  the  secretary,  Theodore  Dwight,  has  com- 
pletely controverted  the  charges  of  treasonable  delib- 
erations and  conspiracy.  And,  indeed,  to  all  but  the 
bitterest  partisans,  the  slightest  knowledge  of  the  men 
composing  the  Convention  would  have  been  a  guaranty 
that  nothing  of  such  a  nature  was  possible.  Yet  for 
many  a  long  year  the  term  Hartford  Conventionist 
was,  in  the  ears  of  a  great  majority  of  the  American 
people,  synonymous  with  traitor.  'Not  only  did  the 
Convention  destroy  the  federalist  party  beyond  all  pos- 
sibility of  a  resurrection ;  but  it  proved  to  be  the  blight- 
ing of  many  a  fair  and  promising  career.  Every  man 
who  took  part  in  it  was  a  marked  man ;  and,  so  far  as 
the  utmost  rage  of  the  republican  party  and  press 
could  go,  he  was  outcast  and  outlawed  politically. 

The  actual  work  of  the  Convention  issued  in  a  lengthy 
report,  containing  four  resolutions,  the  last  of  which 
presented  to  the  States  seven  proposed  The  work  of 
amendments  to  the  Constitution,  some  2rood,  gie  Hartford 

^  o       ^  Convention. 

some  bad,  which  were  as  follows  : 

1.  Excluding  slaves  from  the  basis  on  which  repre- 
sentation and  direct  taxes  are  apportioned. 

2.  Requiring  for  the  admission  of  new  States  the  con- 
currence of  two-thirds  of  both  houses. 

3.  Prohibiting  Congress  from  laying  an  embargo  foi 
more  than  sixty  days. 


246  THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 

4.  Prohibiting  Congress  from  interdicting  commer- 
cial intercourse  with  foreign  nations  without  a  two- 
thirds  vote  of  both  houses. 

5.  Eequiring  a  two -thirds  vote  to  declare  war  or 
authorize  acts  of  hostility  against  a  foreign  nation^  ex- 
cept in  defence  and  in  cases  of  actual  invasion. 

6.  Making  ineligible  to  any  civil  office  under  the  gen- 
eral government  any  person  thereafter  naturalized. 

7.  The  president  to  be  eligible  only  for  a  single  term 
and  not  to  be  chosen  two  terms  in  succession  from  the 
same  State. 

The  latter  clause  was  aimed  at  Virginia,  which  had 
already  furnished  three  out  of  the  four  presidents  ; 
while  Mr.  Monroe  was  closely  in  line  of  succession  as  a 
fourth  Virginian. 

The  most  seriously  objectionable  portions  of  the  re- 
port, however,  were  those  which  recommended  to  the 
States  the  adoption  of  measures  to  prevent  the  execution 
of  certain  provisions  of  the  enlistment  laws  of  the  United 
States,  deemed  unconstitutional,  and  which  contem- 
plated independent  provision  for  defence  on  the  part  of 
States,  or  groups  of  States,  in  case  of  invasion.  All  mili- 
tary and  political  considerations  oppose  the  latter  recom- 
mendation. The  former  is  in  the  true  spirit  of  the  nulli- 
fication resolutions  of  1798  ;  and  indeed  it  must  be  said 
that,  since  1808,  the  extreme  federalists  of  New  England 
had  not  refrained  from  expressing  opinions  which,  if 
made  good  by  action,  would  have  destroyed  the  author- 
ity and  even  the  existence  of  the  government  under  the 
Union.  But,  after  all,  the  great  objection  to  be  made 
to  the  Hartford  Convention  lies  against  the  mere  fact 
of  the  Convention  itself.  For  all  purposes  not  of  mere 
courtesy  and  ceremony  the  only  place  where  the  States 
ought  to  be  found  represented  is  in  Congress.  It  is  to 
be  confessed,  however,  that  such  gatherings  have  been 


THE  WAR  OF  1812-15 


247 


since  held,  some  of  them  for  very  highly  patriotic  pur- 
poses, as  in  the  case  of  conventions  of  the  governors  of 
the  loyal  States  during  the  War  of  Secession. 

One  is  tempted  to  say  that  the  terms  of  peace  were 
creditable  neither  to  our  diplomacy  nor  to  our  arms  ; 
yet,  when  it  is  considered  that  the  negotia-  The  terms  of 
tors,  upon  the  part  of  the  United  States,  in- 
eluded  John  Quincy  Adams,  Henry  Clay,  and  Albert  Gal- 
latin, it  is  doubtless  only  just  to  lay  the  blame  for  an  un- 
satisfactory settlement  wholly  upon  our  lack  of  national 
prestige  and  upon  the  failure  of  our  warlike  enterprises. 
We  had  gone  to  war  chiefly  on  the  question  of  impress- 
ment, refusing  to  accept  the  compromises  offered  by 
England  on  that  subject.  In  the  treaty  which  closed 
three  years  of  doubtful  fighting,  our  commissioners 
were  obliged  to  waive  the  question  of  impressment,  re- 
serving it  for  future  settlement,  as  it  had  been  reserved 
by  the  Jay  treaty  twenty  years  before.  Two  extravagant 
and  wholly  impossible  demands  were  made  by  England 
during  the  negotiations  which  deserve  to  be  noted.  One 
was,  that  not  only  should  the  Indian  allies  of  England 
be  included  in  the  pacification  (which  was  well  enough), 
but  that  a  definite  and  permanent  boundary  should  be 
established  between  them  and  the  United  States,  our 
government  to  be  precluded  from  any  future  purchase 
of  their  territory.  The  second  demand  was  that  the 
United  States  should  relinquish  the  right  of  maintain- 
ing military  posts  on  the  northern  lakes.  Both  these 
demands  were  decisively  denied  by  our  commissioners.- 
The  treaty  as  signed  provided  for  the  mutual  restoration 
of  conquered  territory,  and  for  the  appointment  of  com- 
missioners to  settle  the  boundary  on  the  northeast  and 
to  run  the  northern  line  as  far  as  the  Lake  of  the  Woods. 


248  THE  MAKING  OF  THE  KATIOI^ 


As  to  fishing  on  the  shores  of  British  America,  the  Eng. 
lish  commissioners  declined  to  renew  the  privileges 
formerly  enjoyed  by  our  citizens,  which  they  deemed  to 
have  been  terminated  by  the  war.  The  loss  of  the  riglit 
to  fish  on  the  shores  of  British  America,  thus  occurring, 
continued,  in  spite  of  a  partial  adjustment  in  1818,  at 
intervals  to  threaten  the  peace  of  the  two  nations  until, 
by  the  treaty  of  Washington,  in  1870,  this  right  was  re 
gained  in  the  exchange  of  benefits  and  payments  therein 
provided  for. 

In  this  connection  let  us  note  an  act,  passed  before  the 
close  of  Mr.  Madison^s  administration,  which  has  re- 
mained in  force  down  to  the  present  time,  to  regulate 
the  relations  of  our  people  toward  foreign  powers,  friend- 
ly to  us  but  at  war  with  each  other.  This  was  the  gen- 
The  Neutrality  ^^^^  Neutrality  law  of  1817,  which  made  pre- 
law, vision  against  fitting  out  vessels  within  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  United  States,  to  aid  or  co-operate  in 
warlike  measures  against  nations  with  which  we  should 
be  at  peace.  This  act  has  been  of  great  service,  having 
frequently  been  invoked  against  filibustering  enter- 
prises, whether  under  the  impulse  of  the  slave  power 
or  due  to  misguided  sympathy  with  communities  strug- 
gling for  independence. 

Fresh  acts  of  hostility  on  the  part  of  Algiers  had  fol- 
lowed the  outbreak  of  our  war  with  England;  but  of 
these  the  government  at  Washington  wisely  took  little 
notice  until  the  conclusion  of  the  treaty  of  peace  left 
our  hands  free,  when  a  powerful  fleet,  under  Commodore 
Decatur,  was  sent  to  the  Mediterranean  and  speedily 
Coercion  of  ^^^^'CGd  the  piratcs,  the  Dey  being  compelled 
the  Barbary  to  sign  terms,  upou  Dccatur^s  quarter-deck, 
by  which  he  renounced  all  claims  to  future 
tribute  or  presents  from  the  United  States,  and  agreed 
to  surrender  American  captives  held  in  slavery  by  his 


THE  WAR  OF  1812-15 


249 


people.  Tripoli  and  Tunis  were  also  brought  to  sub- 
mission^ and  the  Barbary  powers  ceased  from  that 
time  to  vex  our  commerce. 

Indian  troubles  had  preceded  the  War  of  1812.  These 
still  continued,  in  some  degree,  after  its  close.  We  have 
seen  that  Great  Britain  had  sought,  in  the    ^,    ^  ^. 

°  ^  The  Indian 

treaty  of  peace,  to  give  special  and  extraor-  l^^j^^.^^ 
dinary  protection  to  her  late  allies  by  secur- 
ing them  their  lands  in  perpetuity  ;  but  that  the  com- 
missioners on  the  part  of  the  United  States  accorded  to 
that  part  of  the  British  propositions  little  consideration. 
In  September,  1815,  peace  was  made  with  the  tribes 
lately  at  war. 


CHAPTER  XIII 


THE  CIVIL  EVENTS  OF  MADISON'S  ADMINISTRATION 

The  Seventh  Presidential  Election — DeWitt  Clinton  Nominated  by 
the  Disaffected  Republicans  and  Supported  by  the  Federalists 
— Madison  Re-elected — The  Third  Census — Redistribution  of 
Representatives — The  Strengthening  of  National  Authority 
— The  Olmstead  Case — Chief  Justice  Marshall's  Contributions 
to  American  Nationality — Expiry  of  the  National  Bank — Fi- 
nancial Measures  Incident  to  the  War — The  Republican  Party 
Driven  to  Direct  Taxes  and  other  Offensive  Means  of  Obtaining 
Revenue  —  The  Salary-Grab  Bill  —  New  States — Economic 
Measures — The  New  Age — President  Madison  Advocates  a 
Protective  Tariff — The  Protectionist  Argument  of  that  time 
—Position  of  the  South— The  Tariff  of  1816— The  Second  Na- 
tional Bank — The  Navigation  Act — Internal  Improvements 
— Changes  in  the  Cabinet — Mr.  Monroe  Chosen  President — Ret- 
rospect. 

Having  briefly  described  the  war  with  England,  let  us 
return  to  consider  the  chief  civil  events  and  measures  of 
Madison^s  administration.  The  interest  taken  by  the 
people  in  the  controversy  which  resulted  in  the  declara- 
tion of  July  18,  1812,  was  so  intense  and  absorbing  that 
nearly  all  the  political  thought  and  feeling  of  Mr.  Madi- 
son^s  first  three  years  expended  itself  in  discussing  our 
national  wrongs  and  in  considering  the  political  meas- 
ures of  retaliation  or  redress.  Mr.  Madison  having,  as 
^  stated,  been  nominated  by  the  administration 

The  seventh  ^ 

precedential  party,  DcWitt  Clinton,  of  New  York,  was 
put  up  by  the  disaffected  republicans,  with 
the  understanding  that  he  would  receive  the  votes  of  the 
federalists.    Mr.  Clinton,  the  nephew  of  George  Clin- 


EVENTS  OF  Madison's  administration  251 


ton,  had  become  early  distinguished  in  the  ranks  of  the 
republicans  ;  but  he  now  placed  himself  in  opposition, 
partly  from  ambition,  partly  from  his  dislike  of  the 
Virginia  Dynasty/^  He  received  89  electoral  votes, 
all  the  votes  of  New  York,  Massachusetts,  New  Jer^ 
sey,  New  Hampshire,  Connecticut,  Rhode  Island,  and 
Delaware,  with  5  from  Maryland.  These  were  substan- 
tially federalist  votes,  reenforced  by  opposition  to  the 
war  and  dislike  of  Virginian  domination  within  the 
government.  One  blank  vote  was  thrown  from  Ohio. 
Mr.  Madison  received  128  votes,  all  the  votes  of  Ver- 
mont and  Pennsylvania ;  7  from  Ohio,  6  from  Mary- 
land, and  the  full  vote  of  the  southern  and  southwest- 
ern States  except  those  already  named.  Elbridge  Gerry, 
of  Massachusetts,  received  131  votes  as  vice-president. 
Ohio,  as  a  State  settled  mainly  from  the  northeast,  ex- 
hibited its  natural  affiliations  with  New  England  and 
New  York.  Kentucky  and  Tennessee  went  with  Vir- 
ginia and  North  Carolina,  their  parent  States,  respect- 
ively. 

The  third  census,  taken  in  1810,  showed  a  total  popu- 
lation of  7,239,903,  of  whom  1,191,364  were  slaves.  The 
four  largest  States  were  Virginia,  with  977,622  ;  New 
York,  with  959,049  ;  Pennsylvania,  with  810,091  ;  Mas- 
sachusetts (still  including  Maine),  with  700,745.  These 
four  States  obtained  93  representatives  out  of  a  total  of 
182,  or  more  than  half.  Though  Virginia  was  the  most 
populous  of  all,  yet  the  three-fifths  rule,  applied  to  her 
slaves,  brought  her  representation  in  Con-  Kepresenta- 
gress  below  that  of  New  York  (27)  and  ex- 
actly  on  a  level  with  that  of  Pennsylvania  (23),  while 
Massachusetts  obtained  20.  The  three  smallest  States 
were  Ehode  Island,  Delaware,  and  Louisiana,  which,  to- 
gether, had  only  5  representatives.  North  Carolina  had 
13 ;  Kentucky,  10 ;  South  Carolina  and  Maryland,  9 


252 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


each  ;  Connecticut  7  ;  while^  by  a  curious  coincidence, 
the  six  remaining  States  had  6  each.  Here  again  we 
note  the  absence  of  any  considerable  group  of  the  second 
rank.  North  Carolina  alone  being  about  at  the  mean 
of  such  a  group  as  might  naturally  have  been  expected 
to  be  formed  among  so  many  as  eighteen  States. 

We  have  seen  how,  little  by  little,  the  Constitution 
set  up  in  1789  was  being  tried  on in  application  to 
the  life  of  the  American  people,  to  find  how  it  would  fit 
and  whether  it  would  work  in  practice.  We  have  seen 
Kentucky  and  Virginia,  by  the  nullification  resolutions 
of  1798-99,  declaring  that  there  was  no  common  judge 
The  strength-  between  State  and  Nation,  in  cases  of  con- 
tS  authOT-  flicting  authority  or  of  abuses  of  federal 
power.  We  have  noted  the  hostility  of  the 
republican  party  to  all  enlargements  of  the  judicial 
function  in  our  government ;  we  have  witnessed  the 
attempts,  which  followed  the  accession  of  that  party  to 
power,  to  break  down  the  judiciary  by  the  process  of 
impeachment.  We  have  seen  President  Adams,  in  the 
last  days  of  his  administration,  place  upon  the  supreme 
bench  of  the  United  States  the  great  Chief -Justice, 
Marshall,  who  was  to  make  history  faster  than  it  could 
be  unmade  by  all  the  opponents  of  American  nation- 
ality. 

We  are  now  to  see  the  government  of  the  United 
States  and  of  one  of  its  original  constituent  States  in 
actual  collision  over  a  mandate  of  the  Supreme  Court. 
In  the  first  weeks  of  Madison^s  administration  a  case 
of  long  standing — the  Olmstead  case — concerning  the 
disposition  of  certain  moneys,  the  proceeds  of  a  Brit- 
ish prize,  taken  away  back  during  the  Revolutionary 
war,  came  to  a  final  decision.  The  United  States  mar- 
shal, attempting  to  carry  out  the  decree  of  the  bench, 
was  forcibly  resisted,  in  Philadelphia,  by  militia  acting 


EVENTS  OF  MABISON'S  ADMINISTRATION  253 


under  instructions  from  the  legislature  and  Governor 
of  Pennsylvania^  to  make  good  the  decisions  of  the 
State  courts  regarding  the  same  subject-matter.  A 
bloody  issue  was  for  the  moment  postponed ;  and,  dur- 
ing the  respite  accorded,  the  authorities  of  Pennsylvania 
withdrew  from  their  attitude  of  resistance,  intimidated 
by  the  firm  front  of  Mr.  Madison,  who  without  any  fal- 
tering asserted  the  powers  of  the  national  judiciary. 
The  precept  of  the  court  was  in  time  duly  executed. 
The  officer  commanding  the  militia  and  cer-  Tj^e  oimstead 
tain  of  his  men  were  tried  by  the  United 
States  Circuit  Court  and  convicted  of  unlawfully  resist- 
ing the  service  of  judicial  process  ;  but  their  sentences 
were  wisely  remitted  by  the  President,  on  the  ground 
that  they  had  acted  under  a  mistaken  sense  of  duty.  So 
ended,  in  favor  of  the  national  authority,  a  contest  which 
had  at  one  time  threatened  the  gravest  issues.  The 
two  great  constitutional  principles,  the  establishment  of 
which,  beyond  all  the  power  of  men  to  subvert  or  up- 
root them,  we  owe  chiefly  to  Marshall  are  these  :  First, 
that,  while  the  general  government  is  limited  as  to  its 
objects,  it  is  yet,  as  to  those  objects,  supreme.  Secondly, 
that  in  enforcing  its  constitutional  authority,  in  doing 
its  constitutional  work,  in  reaching  its  constitutional 
ends,  the  United  States  government  is  not  confined  to 
narrow  courses ;  is  not  shut  up  to  any  single  line  of  ac- 
tion ;  is  not  limited  in  its  agencies  or  methods.  It  has 
a  full,  fair,  and  free  choice  among  all  the  means,  not 
expressly  forbidden  in  the  Constitution,  which  are  rea- 
sonable, expedient,  and  politic  means  to  those  ends  ;  a 
choice  as  full,  fair,  and  free  as  if  the  objects  of  the 
government  were  not  limited. 

As  has  been  stated,  the  charter  of  the  first  National 
Bank  ran  twenty  years  from  1791.  Application  for  a 
renewal  of  the  charter  was  made  in  ample  season  to 


254 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATIO^^ 


allow  a  full  discussion  as  to  the  merits  of  that  measnra 
The  bank  had  been  highly  successful^  from  a  stock- 
^    .      ^  holder^s  point  of  view  ;  and  there  was  little 

Expiry  of  -"^  ... 

^he^Nationai  reason  f or  questioning  its  usefulness  alike  to 
people  and  to  government.  The  management 
had^  in  general^  been  conservative  and  sound  ;  and  the 
bank  had  been  a  capable  and  honest  agent  in  the  custody 
and  transmission  of  public  funds^  as  well  as  a  convenient 
source  of  occasional  loans  and  supplies  to  the  Treasury. 
But,  rapidly  as  the  republican  party  of  that  day  had 
progressed  toward  occupying  the  federalist  position  of 
1789-91,  it  had  not  yet  got  so  far  that  ^^the  rank  and 
file  were  prepared,  without  strong  opposition,  to  accept 
Hamilton's  bank  as  one  of  the  permanent  institutions  of 
the  country.  Moreover,  an  interested  coj^apj^tition. had 
sprung  up,  through  the  establishment  of  State  banks, 
generally  of  a  low  order,  deeply  infected  with  political 
animus,  with  little  capital  actually  paid  in,  and  often 
managed  speculatively,  if  not  dishonestly.  The  unfortu- 
nate result  was  that,  although  the  recharter.  was  urged 
by  Gallatin,  our  strongest  as  well  as  safest  financier 
since  the  day  of  Hamilton,  and  was  supported  by  many 
leading  republicans,  it  just  failed  of  success.  In  the 
House  of  Representatives  indefinite  postponement  was 
carried,  65  to  64.  In  the  Senate  a  separate  bill  was 
defeated  by  the  casting  vote  of  Vice-President  Clinton. 
The  bank,  therefore,  went  out  of  existence  through  the 
expiry  of  its  charter. 

Notwithstanding  the  tremendous  drain  on  the  Treas- 
ury involved  in  the  military  and  naval  enterprises  which 
Financial  have  been  recited,  no  serious  proposition  was 
cident^to  the  ^ladc  to  rcsort  to  Icgal-tcndcr  paper-money, 
war.  This  fact  is  creditable  to  President  Madison, 

to  Mr.  Gallatin,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  and  to  the 
Congress  of  that  time.    It  is  to  be  said,  however,  that 


EVENTS  OF  Madison's  administration  255 


this  result  was  due  more  to  a  belief  that  such  a  power 
did  not  inhere  in  Congress  than  to  any  enlightened  con- 
victions as  to  the  economic  folly  of  such  a  resort. 

Treasury  notes/^  without  the  legal-tender  quality, 
were  issued  according  to  the  exigencies  of  the  govern- 
ment ;  and  as  those  exigencies  were  always  of  the  most 
trying  character,  the  notes  became  greatly  depreciated. 
As  they  were  receivable  for  taxes,  the  Treasury  was  con- 
tinually taking  in  notes  which  it  found  difficult  to  put 
out  again.  In  November,  1814,  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury  was  compelled  to  give  notice  that  he  would  be 
unable  to  meet  the  interest  due  on  the  public  debt.  The 
general  suspension  of  banks  throughout  the  country 
added  to  the  financial  disorder.  The  normal  industry 
of  the  nation  was  crippled  ;  and  the  profitable  trade  of 
the  north  and  the  northeast  was  practically  destroyed, 
not  only  by  the  proper  effects  of  war,  but  by  the  Em- 
bargo Act  of  1813-14,  which  was  so  stringent  that  even 
the  coasting-trade  was  almost  annihilated.  Everywhere, 
except  in  the  agricultural  regions,  deep  distress  pre- 
vailed. Notwithstanding  these  adverse  conditions  Con- 
gress made  a  manful  effort  to  increase  the  revenue  from 
taxation.  At  the  outset  the  duties  on  imports  were  in- 
creased. In  the  second  year  of  the  war  a  direct  tax  of 
$3,000,000  was  laid  upon  real  estate  and  slaves.  A  duty 
of  four  cents  a  pound  was  levied  on  all  sugars  refined  in 
the  United  States  ;  stills  were  taxed  upon  their  capacity  ; 
licenses  for  retailing  spirits  and  wine  were  also  taxed ; 
stamp  duties  were  imposed  on  bank-notes,  on  bonds  or 
promissory  notes  discounted  by  banks,  and  on  bills  of 
exchange  ;  pleasure-carriages  were  taxed  heavily,  and  all 
other  carriages  in  smaller  amounts. 

It  seems  very  strange  to  read  of  whiskey  taxes,  stamp 
duties,  and  direct  taxes  levied  by  a  Congress  controlled 
by  a  republican  majority.    But  that  party  had  met  the 


256 


THE  MAKIKG  OF  THE  NATION 


inevitable  fate  of  all  parties  coming  into  power.  It  had 
taken  the  government  upon  its  own  hands  ;  it  had  be- 

The  repub-  gun  War  upon  its  own  declaration  ;  and  it 
impose 8 ^di-  had  to  get  the  means  to  carry  on  the  war 
rect  taxes.  sustain  the  government  as  best  it  could. 

The  financial  measures  it  had  denounced  in  opposi- 
tion it  was  now  obliged  to  defend.  In  spite  of  the 
utmost  efforts  to  collect  revenue,  the  public  debt  rose, 
in  great  waves,  until  it  reached  the  enormous  sum,  as  it 
seemed  in  those  days,  of  $127,000,000.  Mr.  Gallatin 
remained  in  the  Treasury  until  1814,  when  he  was  suc- 
ceeded by  George  W.  Campbell,  of  Tennessee,  who, 
after  a  brief  service,  gave  way  to  Alexander  J.  Dallas,  of 
Pennsylvania.  The  year  following  the  close  of  the  war. 
Congress  passed  a  joint  resolution  requiring  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Treasury  to  cause,  as  soon  as  might  be,  all 
public  dues  to  be  collected  and  paid  in  specie  or  Treas- 
ury notes  or  notes  of  specie-paying  banks.  By  the  ef- 
forts of  the  Treasury  and  the  improved  industrial  con- 
ditions of  the  country,  specie  payments  were  restored  at 
the  beginning  of  1817.  Before  the  close  of  Mr.  Madi- 
son^s  administration  Congress  passed  an  act  appropriat- 
ing $10,000,000  annually,  out  of  current  revenues,  as  a 
sinking  fund  to  provide  for  the  public  debt  at  its  matur- 
ity. The  embargo  of  1813-14,  which  we  spoke  of  as 
causing  dire  distress,  had  been  soon  repealed,  whether  in 
consequence  of  the  outcry  raised  against  it  or  of  the  com- 
plete destruction  of  Napoleon^s  continental  system,  fol- 
lowing the  fatal  battle  of  Leipsic. 

In  speaking  of  the  first  ten  amendments  of  the  Con- 
stitution we  referred  to  an  amendment  proposed  at  the 
The  Salary  Same  time  to  the  States,  but  not  by  them 

Grab  BUI.  adopted,  according  to  which  it  would  have 
been  impossible  for  Congress  to  change  the  compen- 
sation of  its  own  members  until  an  election  should 


EVENTS  OF  Madison's  administration  257 


have  intervened.  By  an  act  of  the  session  of  1815-16, 
the  compensation  of  members,  which  had  been  at  the 
rate  of  $6  per  day  of  actual  attendance,  was  placed  at 
$1,500  per  year,  with  the  usual  mileage.  Writing  to 
Mr.  Gallatin,  June  16,  1817,  Mr.  Jefferson  says  :  Ac- 
cording to  the  opinion  I  hazarded  to  you  a  little  before 
your  departure,  we  have  had  an  almost  entire  change  in 
the  body  of  Congress.  ...  In  some  States,  it  is 
said,  every  member  of  Congress  is  changed  ;  in  all, 
many.  ...  I  have  never  known  so  unanimous  a 
sentiment  of  disapprobation  ;  and  what  is  remarkable  is 
that  it  was  spontaneous.  The  newspapers  were  almost 
entirely  silent ;  and  the  people,  not  only  unled  by  their 
leaders,  but  in  opposition  to  them.^-* 

In  1812™LQuisiana  was  admitted  as  a  State,  with  its 
present  boundaries.  The  resistance  to  this  act  from  the 
unreconciled  federalists  was  of  the  most  in- 
tense anjd  furious  nature.  In  his  speech 
against  the  bill,  Mr.  Quincy  said,  If  this  bill  passes,  it 
is  my  deliberate  opinion  that  it  is  virtually  a  dissolution 
of  the  Union ;  that  it  will  free  the  States  from  their 
moral  obligation  ;  and,  as  it  will  be  the  right  of  all,  so 
it  will  be  the  duty  of  some,  definitely  to  prepare  for  a 
separation,  amicably  if  they  can,  forcibly  if  they  must.^* 
Here  was  the  ^^old  Kepublicanism  of  1798-99  with  a 
vengeance  ;  and  this  time  from  a  Massachusetts  fed- 
eralist !  In  1816,  without  any  such  antagonism,  Indiana 
was  admitted.  In  1810  its  population  had  been  24,820  ; 
in  1820  it  had  risen  to  147,178.  At  the  session  follow- 
ing, Missi^ippi,  with  a  population  estimated  at  64,000, 
was  authorized  to  form  a  constitution  and  State  govern- 
ment. The  remainder  of  what  had  been  the  Mississippi 
territory  was  constituted  the  territory  of  Alabama. 

We  now  come  to  a  group  of  economic  measures,  passed 
by  Congress  in  the  brief  interval  between  the  conclu- 
17 


258 


THE  MAKING  OP  THE  NATION 


sion  of  the  war  with  England  and  the  close  of  Mr.  Madi- 
son^s  administration,  which  were  not  only  of  great  im- 
.    portance  in  themselves,  but  which  have  an 

Economic   ^        t  .  i       •  i  •        •     n      •  i 

The^New  A^e"  ^^'^^  higher  interest,  historically,  m  that  they 
The  New  Age.  ^  ^^g^  change  in  the  ideas,  feelings, 

and  purposes  of  the  American  people.  The  group  of 
measures  to  which  we  refer  not  only  presaged  but  intro- 
duced a  new  era  in  the  life  of  the  United  States.  Down- to 
this  time  the  political  thought  of  our  people  had  been  al- 
most entirely  absorbed  by  foreign  affairs.  We  have  now 
reached  the  period  when  economic  concerns  became  su- 
preme. It  was  by  no  accidental  coincidence  that  the 
years  immediately  following  the  peace  of  1815  witnessed 
the  enactment  of  a  large  body  of  important  commercial 
and  financial  legislation. 

Mr.  Madison  had  been  the  leader  of  the  opposition 
to  protection  in  Washington's  administration.  He  was 
now,  under  the  pressure  of  the  financial  difficulties 
created  by  the  war,  and  under  the  impulse  of  his  sup- 
porters from  the  extreme  South,  where  the  cotton-plant- 
ing interest  had  become  dominant,  to  appear  in  the  role 
of  an  advocate  of  incidental  protection.  In  his  message 
President  December,  1815,  he  said  to  Congress,  ^^In 
vocates^a  pro-  adjusting  the  duties  on  imports  to  the  object 
tective  tariff .  Qf  revenue,  the  influence  of  the  tariff  on 
manufactures  will  necessarily  present  itself  for  consid- 
eration. However  wise  the  theory  may  be  which  leaves 
to  the  sagacity  and  interest  of  individuals  the  applica- 
tion of  their  industry  and  resources,  there  are,  in  this  as 
in  other  cases,  exceptions  to  the  general  rule.  Besides 
the  condition,  which  the  theory  itself  implies,  of  a  re- 
ciprocal adoption  by  other  nations,  experience  teaches 
that  so  many  circumstances  must  occur  in  introducing 
and  maturing  manufacturing  establishments,  especially 
of  the  more  complicated  kinds,  that  a  country  may  re- 


EVENTS  OF  MADISON'S  ADMINISTRATION  259 


main  long  without  them,  although  sufficiently  advanced, 
and  in  some  respects  even  peculiarly  fitted,  for  carrying 
them  on  with  success.  Under  circumstances  giving  a 
powerful  impulse  to  manufacturing  industry,  it  has 
made  among  us  a  progress  and  exhibited  an  efficiency 
which  justify  the  belief  that,  with  a  protection  not  more 
than  is  due  to  the  enterprising  citizens  whose  inter- 
ests are  now  at  stake,  it  will  become  at  an  early  day 
not  only  safe  against  occasional  competition  from 
abroad  but  a  source  of  domestic  wealth  and  even  of  ex- 
ternal commerce.  In  selecting  the  branches  more  es- 
pecially entitled  to  the  public  patronage,  a  preference  is 
obviously  claimed  by  such  as  will  relieve  the  United 
States  from  a  dependence  on  foreign  supplies,  ever  sub- 
ject to  casual  failures,  for  articles  necessary  for  the  pub- 
lic defence  or  connected  with  the  primary  wants  of  in- 
dividuals. It  will  be  an  additional  recommendation  of 
particular  manufactures  when  the  materials  for  them 
are  extensively  drawn  from  our  agriculture,  and  conse- 
quently impart  and  insure  to  that  great  fund  of  national 
prosperity  and  independence  an  encouragement  which 
cannot  fail  to  be  rewarded. 

Three  features  of  the  protectionist  argument  of  1816 
require  to  be  clearly  indicated.  The  first  claim  for 
protection  was  nat  then  for  the  defence  of  The  protec- 
American  wages  and  the  American  standard  mentf^of^tlBt 
of  living,  but  for  securing  to  government 
and  people  an  indefeasible  supply  of  articles  necessary  to 
life,  and  especially  to  national  defence.  The  second  claim 
was  made  in  the  interest  of  agriculture,  not  as  furnishing 
the  food  for  large  operative  classes  (so  favored  sm  argu- 
ment in  later  days)  but  as  furnishing  the  materials  for 
manufacture.  We  shall,  further  on,  see  the  special  sig- 
nificance of  this  argument.  The  third  claim  was  on  the 
ground  that  manufactures  had  been  brought  into  exist* 


260 


THE  MAKIKG  OF  THE  NATION 


ence  by  the  embargo  and  by  the  war,  as  a  means  of  sup* 
plying  our  people  with  the  necessaries  of  life  ;  and  that, 
in  all  fairness,  those  enterprises,  in  which  so  much  capi- 
tal had  been  invested,  should  not  be  allowed  to  collapse 
under  foreign  competition,  now  that  peace  was  restored. 

What  was  it  that  made  the  South,  always  the  advo- 
cate of  a  strict  construction  of  the  powers  of  govern- 
The  position  ment,  and  also  naturally,  as  composed  of 
toward  the  tar^  planting  communities,  opposed  to  duties  on 
manufactured  goods — what  was  it  that  made 
this  section  now  support  a  protective  tariff  ?  In  the 
answer  to  this  question  we  find  the  significance  of  Mr. 
Madison^s  argument.  The  profits  of  cotton  culture  had 
become  enormous,  thanks  to  the  ingenuity  of  a  Yankee 
schoolmaster.  We  saw  that,  at  the  inauguration  of  the 
government,  the  export  of  cotton  amounted  to  but  a  few 
thousand  pounds  a  year.  The  difficulty  was  not,  then, 
in  raising  the  plant,  but  in  treating  it  for  the  market. 
Any  amount  of  cotton  could  be  produced  upon  the  rich, 
moist  lands  of  the  South,  under  its  warm  sun  ;  but  only 
a  very  small  amount  could  be  cleaned.  At  the  time  of 
which  we  speak,  Eli  Whitney^s  cotton-gin  had  done  its 
great  work,  effecting  a  revolution,  industrially,  socially, 
commercially,  and  politically,  hardly  equalled  in  the  his- 
tory of  invention.  Any  amount  of  cotton  could  be 
cheaply  and  effectively  cleaned  ;  the  only  limit  to  its  use 
was  found  in  the  amount  which  could  be  produced ; 
and,  as  the  merits  of  this  wonderful  fibre  were  every 
year  becoming  more  fully  recognized,  the  profits  of  the 
culture  had  become,  as  we  have  said,  enormous.  In  con- 
sequence, the  cotton  States  were  at  this  time  in  favor  of 
protective  duties  on  cotton  goods,  as  a  means  of  build- 
ing up  American"  manufactures  which  should  take  off 
their  entire  supply.  Of  the  gigantic  possibilities  at- 
tending the  export  of  that  staple  to  Europe,  they  had 


EVENTS  OF  Madison's  administkation  261 


no  conception  ;  or  they  would  not  have  taken  this  side 
in  1816.  Subsequent  history  shows  that,  as  the  export 
rose,  their  interest  in  domestic  manufactures  fell. 
Within  twelve  years  after  Mr.  Madison^s  tariff,  the  plant- 
ing States  became  the  bitterest  enemies  of  protection. 

The  bill  J^^^  prepared  by  Mr.  Dallas  upon  the 
principle  of  Mr.  Madison^s  recommendations,  had  the 
urgent  advocacy  of  Messrs.  Calhoun  and  rj^^^  tariff  of 
Lowndes,  of  South  Carolina ;  but  the  strong- 
est  support  of  the  tariff  came  from  a  less  interested 
source.  Henry  Clay,  of  Kentucky,  who  was  to  come  to 
be  known  as  the  father  of  the  American  (i.e.,  the  Protec- 
tive) System,  made  this  the  occasion  of  assuming  that 
leadership  in  the  advocacy  of  measures  for  building  up 
American  manufactures  which  characterized  his  whole 
subsequent  career.  Whatever  may  be  said  of  Messrs. 
Calhoun  and  Lowndes  in  1816,  or  of  Pennsylvania  states- 
men in  all  periods  of  our  history,  Mr.  Clay  was  un- 
doubtedly influenced,  in  his  championship  of  protection, 
by  large,  unselfish,  and  patriotic  motives.  On  the  other 
hand,' the  New  England  States,  being  still  mainly  com- 
mercial, notwithstanding  the  destructive  effects  of  the 
embargo  and  the  war,  opposed  the  bill.  Daniel  Webster, 
then  a  young  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives, 
made  a  powerful  speech  against  it.  John  Randolph 
lent  the  aid  of  his  restless  genius  to  the  opposition. 
The  act  p^assed,  imposing  duties  ranging  from  twenty  to 
thirty-five  per  cent. 

The  second  of  the  great  financial  measures  of  this  ad- 
ministration was  the  creation  of  a  new  national  bank. 
We  have  seen  how  the  bank  of  1791  failed  to  secure  a 
recharter  in  1811.  In  1814  Mr.  Dallas,  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury,  prepared  a  huge  banking  scheme  which, 
in  its  essential  features,  passed  the  Senate,  but  was  de- 
feated in  the  House  by  the  casting  vote  of  the  Speaker, 


262 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION" 


Subsequently  a  compromise  between  this  proposition  and 
one  offered  by  Mr.  Calhoun  was  passed  by  both  Houses, 
but  was  vetoed  by  Mr.  Madison.    In  1816  the  scheme 

The  second  a  national  bank  was  stronger  than  in  1811 
National  Bank.  ^^^^^  Clay,  then  Speaker  of  the 

House,  led  in  its  advocacy  ;  and  a  bill  was  passed  which 
received  Mr.  Madison^'s  approval,  April  10th.  The  cap- 
ital was  to  be  $35,000,000,  of  which  one-fifth  was  to  be 
owned  by  the  United  States.  Of  all  subscriptions  one- 
fifth  was  to  be  paid  in  specie.  The  bank  was  to  pay  the 
government  $1,500,000  as  a  bonus.  One-fifth  of  the 
directors  were  to  be  appointed  by  the  president  and  con- 
firmed by  the  Senate.  The  deposits  of  the  United  States 
were  to  be  removable  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury, 
for  sufficient  reasons,  to  be  laid  before  Congress. 

The  third  of  the  important  economic  measures  of  this 
administration  was  the  Navigation  Act,  which  restricted 
The  Naviga-  coasting  trade  to  vessels  wholly  owned 
tion  Act.  ]jy  o^^p  citizens  ;  encouraged  the  employment 
of  American  seamen  therein,  through  discriminating 
duties ;  and  restricted  importations  to  vessels  of  the 
United  States  or  of  the  country  of  production.  The 
latter  regulation,  however,  was  to  apply  only  to  vessels 
of  those  nations  which  had  similar  regulations. 
/  Finally,  in  the  same  period,  an  act  was  passed  by 
Congress  (86  to  84  in  the  House  ;  20  to  15  in  the  Sen- 
ate), but  vetoed  by  the  President  upon  the  ground  of 
unconstitutionality,  which  provided  for  a  fund,  out  of 
the  bonus  to  be  paid  by  the  bank  and  out  of  the  divi- 
dends of  the  government  stock  therein  :  that  fund  to  be 
applied,  from  time  to  time  as  Congress  should  direct. 
Internal  im-      measures  of  internal  improvement.  Mr, 

provementB.  Qalhoun,  of  South  Carolina,  afterward  the 
recognized  leader  of  the  States^-rights  party,  had  been 
foremost  in  pressing  this  measure  through  Congress.  It 


EVENTS  OF  MADISON'S  ADMHSTISTRATION  26S 


is  not  improbable  that  the  smallness  of  the  majorities  by 
which  the  bill  had  passed  the  two  houses  had  something 
to  do  with  Mr.  Madison^s  constitutional  scruples. 

We  now  turn  to  consider  the  changes  in  the  cabinet 
and  the  eighth  presidential  election.  We  have  already 
referred  to  certain  changes  in  the  office  of  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury,  after  Mr.  Gallatin^s  withdrawal.  Late  in 
1816  Mr.  William  H.  Crawford,  of  Georgia,  who  was  to 
be  one  of  the  conspicuous  figures  in  the  politics  of  the 
next  ten  years,  became  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  being 
transferred  to  that  office  from  the  War  Department. 
Other  changes  in  Mr.  Madison^s  cabinet  were  too  numer- 
ous to  be  mentioned  in  full.  It  has  already  changes  in  the 
been  stated  that  Mr.  Smith  was  succeeded  as  cabinet. 
Secretary  of  State,  by  Mr.  Monroe,  who  in  September, 
1814,  also  assumed  the  duties  of  Secretary  of  War.  Mr. 
Kodney  was  succeeded  as  Attorney-General,  in  1811,  by 
William  Pinkney,  of  Maryland,  whom  tradition  declares 
to  have  been  the  most  eloquent  advocate  of  the  Ameri- 
can bar  in  his  time.  Pinkney  was  in  turn  succeeded, 
early  in  1814,  by  Eichard  Eush,  of  Pennsylvania,  a  man 
of  great  ability  and  one  of  the  finer  characters  of  our 
political  history.  In  all,  fourteen  persons  occupied 
seats  in  Mr.  Madison^s  cabinet  during  the  eight  years  of 
his  administration. 

On  the  16th  of  March,  the  usual  congressional  caucus 
was  held  for  the  nomination  of  Mr.  Madison^s  successor. 
We  have  already  spoken  of  practical  objec-  Monroe 
tions  to  this  procedure.  In  1816  Mr.  Clay  chosen  Presi- 
and  others  strongly  opposed  the  practice,  ^' 
but  were  overruled  by  their  colleagues.  Upon  the  first 
ballot  Mr.  Monroe  was  nominated  by  a  large  majority, 
Mr.  Crawford  being  his  competitor.  Daniel  D.  Tomp- 
kins, of  New  York,  was  nominated  for  vice-president. 
Mr.  Monroe  had  been  urged  by  a  section  of  the  repub- 


264 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


lican  party^  in  place  of  Mr.  Madison^  eight  years  before  ; 
but  various  causes,  especially  the  intervention  of  Mr. 
Jefferson,  had  prevented  a  serious  contest  at  that  time. 
Mr.  Monroe  was  now  to  have  his  turn.  He'  was  elected 
by  183  votes,  against  34  given  to  Kufus  King,  the  fed- 
eralist candidate. 

RETROSPECT. 

During  the  period  of  thirty-four  years  covered  by  this 
narrative,  a  movement  had  been  in  continuous  progress 
for  the  westward  extension  of  population,  which  far 
transcended  the  limits  of  any  of  the  great  migrations  of 
mankind  upon  the  older  continents.  The  story  of  the 
geographical  process  of  our  national  growth  is  among 
the  marvels  of  the  human  race.  Over  the  natural 
water-way  of  the  great  Northern  Lakes  ;  along  the  road 
to  Pittsburg,  and  thence  down  the  Ohio  ;  up  the  road 
which  skirts  the  Potomac,  and  then  down  the  Ohio; 
over  the  passes  of  Southwestern  Virginia,  into  Ken 
tucky  ;  and  far  to  the  south,  around  the  end  of  the  Al- 
leghanies,  into  the  Gulf  States,  the  hardy  pioneers 
poured  in  an  unceasing  stream,  carrying  with  them  lit- 
tle but  axe,  spade,  and  rifle,  some  scanty  household 
effects,  a  small  store  of  provisions,  a  liberal  supply  of 
ammunition,  and  boundless  faith,  enterprise,  and  cour- 
age. From  1790  to  1800,  the  mean  population  of  the 
period  being  about  four  and  a  half  millions,  sixty-five 
thousand  square  miles  were  brought  within  the  limits 
of  settlement ;  crossed  with  rude  roads  and  bridges ; 
built  up  with  rude  houses  and  barns  ;  much  of  it,  also, 
cleared  of  primeval  forests. 

In  the  next  ten  years,  the  mean  population  of  the  de- 
cade being  about  six  and  a  half  millions,  the  people  of 
the  United  States  extended  settlement  over  one  hun- 


EVENTS  OF  MADISON'S  ADMINISTRATION  265 

dred  and  two  thousand  square  miles  of  absolutely  new 
territory ;  annexed  this  from  the  wilderness ;  conquered^ 
subdued,  improved,  cultivated,  civilized  it,  all,  of 
course,  in  rough  pioneer  fashion.  During  this  time 
population  was  deepening  upon  the  older  fields  ;  cities 
and  towns  were  everywhere  springing  up  and  growing 
into  industrial  and  commercial  importance.  Philosoph- 
ic historians  have  been  wont  to  attribute  the  long  and 
hopeless  decay  of  Spain  to  the  drain  upon  its  physical 
and  intellectual  powers  involved  in  the  conquest  and 
occupation  of  Mexico  and  South  America.  Did  the 
prodigious  efforts  of  its  first  twenty  years  exhaust  the 
vital  force  of  the  new  nation  of  the  West  ?  Did  a  period 
of  long  sterility,  with  decay  here  and  there  of  great 
branches,  show  that  too  much  life  had  been  allowed  to 
flow  into  these  new  limbs  of  the  great  Northern  Ee- 
public  ?  The  answer  is  found  in  this,  that  between 
1810  and  1817,  besides  increasing  the  density  of  popu- 
lation upon  almost  every  league  of  the  older  territory, 
and  in  spite  of  a  three  years^  war  waged  against  the 
powerful  fleets  and  armies  of  England,  the  people  of 
the  United  States  advanced  their  frontier  to  occupy 
seventy  thousand  additional  square  miles,  nearly  equal 
to  the  combined  areas  of  Belgium,  Holland,  Switzer- 
land, Denmark,  and  Greece. 

In  1790  the  population  of  the  United  States  had  been 
3,929,214  ;  in  1817  it  was,  as  nearly  as  can  be  com- 
puted, 8,866,000.  In  1790  the  area,  more  or  less 
sparsely  populated,  had  been  two  hundred  and  forty 
thousand  square  miles  ;  in  1817  it  was  about  four  hun- 
dred and  seventy-eight  thousand.  When  Washington 
was  inaugurated  in  1789,  the  centre  of  population  for 
the  whole  country  was  thirty  miles  east  of  Baltimore ! 
At  the  close  of  Madison^s  administration,  it  had  moved 
westward,  past  Washington,  across  the  Potomac,  across 


266  THE  MAKIISTG  OF  THE  NATION 


the  Shenandoah^  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles  in  allj 
but  keeping  ever  close  to  the  39th  degree  of  north  lati- 
tude, as  it  was  destined  to  do  for  a  hundred  years.'*' 
No  other  race  that  ever  dwelt  upon  the  globe  could 
have  extended  settlement  in  so  short  a  time  over  so 
vast  a  field  ;  have  fenced  and  ditched  it ;  have  covered 
the  land  with  roads  and  the  streams  with  bridges, 
have  dotted  the  plains  and  hills  over  with  houses,  barns, 
schools,  and  churches  of  such  an  order  of  comfort  and 
decency,  and,  from  the  soil  thus  enclosed,  after  main- 
taining the  population  in  such  an  abundance  and  qual- 
ity of  food  and  clothing,  have  had  left  for  export  so 
many  million  tons  of  animal  and  vegetable  produce  in 
meat,  in  fibres,  and  in  grain.  No  other  people  could 
have  done  this.  No  :  nor  the  half  of  it.  Any  other  of 
the  great  migratory  races — Tartar,  Slav,  or  German — 
would  have  broken  hopelessly  down  in  an  effort  to  com- 
pass such  a  field  in  such  a  term  of  years.  We  have 
already  indicated,  when  writing  of  the  agriculture  of 
the  United  States,  the  causes  which  made  possible  this 
astonishing  increase  of  population  and  extension  of  the 

*  It  is,  indeed,  one  of  the  most  remarkable  facts  in  human  history  that 
during  the  first  century  of  our  national  existence,  while  population  in- 
creased sixteenfold,  while  settlement  was  extended  over  an  area  eight 
times  as  large  as  that  occupied  at  the  beginning,  including  vast  territories 
not  belonging  to  the  United  States  in  1789 — Florida,  Louisiana,  Texas, 
California,  Oregon — the  centre  of  population  never  moved  away  from  the 
39th  parallel  by  more  than  nineteen  "  minutes"  of  latitude.  This  does 
not  imply  that  population  increased  equally  at  the  South  and  at  the 
North.  On  the  contrary,  the  increase  in  the  latter  section  was,  owing  to 
immigration,  always  much  the  greater.  But  our  territory  extended  north- 
ward from  the  39th  parallel  only  eight  degrees,  at  the  first,  and  only  ten 
degrees,  later,  while  toward  the  south  it  extended  over  nearly  twice  as 
many  degrees.  Consequently,  inasmuch  as  the  Southerner  was,  on  the 
average,  let  us  for  brevity  say,  twice  as  far  from  the  39th  parallel  as  the 
Northerner,  he  counted  for  twice  as  much  in  determining  the  "  Centre  of 
Population."  He,  so  to  speak,  *'  bore  down'*  twice  as  heavily  upon  tb« 
fulcrum. 


EVENTS  OF  Madison's  ADMiNiSTRATior^  267 

settled  area^  namely,  the  popular  tenure  of  the  soil,  the 
character  of  the  agricultural  class,  and  the  mechanical 
and  inventive  genius  of  our  people.  The  marvellous 
work  that  has  just  now  been  recited  constitutes  the 
main  reason  for  the  slow  development  of  technical 
manufactures  during  the  early  stages  of  our  history. 
The  great  manufacture  of  the  United  States,  during  its 
first  fifty  years,  was  the  manufacture  of  farms. 

While  thus  the  new  nation  had  been  increasing  with 
wonderful  rapidity,  both  as  to  numbers  and  as  to  its  oc- 
cupied area,  what  had  taken  place  to  influence  its  char- 
acter and  to  determine  the  direction  of  its  ever-growing 
political  forces  ?  We  have  traced  the  course  of  events 
from  1783  to  the  close  of  Mr.  Madison^s  administration, 
in  1817.  We  have  seen  that  the  consciousness  of  Amer- 
ican nationality  and  a  common  destiny,  faint,  feeble, 
and  fluttering  as  it  had  been  at  the  close  of  the  war  for 
Independence,  was,  through  the  great  debate  over  the 
Constitution,  alike  in  the  Convention  and  before  the 
People,  so  quickened  and  strengthened  that  the  Thir- 
teen States,  resigning  much  of  their  independent  pow- 
er, renouncing  many  of  their  prerogatives  of  statehood, 
agreed  together  to  form  what  promised  to  be  a  per- 
petual union.  We  have  seen  that,  in  the  course  of  the 
twenty-eight  years  following,  under  the  administrations 
of  Washington,  Adams,  Jefferson,  and  Madison,  the 
United  States,  which  at  the  beginning  was  only  what 
might  under  fortunate  conditions,  if  everything,  or  at 
least  the  great  weight  of  events,  should  tend  that  way, 
become  a  nation,  had  become  a  nation  in  fact,  as  fully 
as  any  of  the  powers  known  to  the  diplomacy  of  1817. 
It  might,  indeed,  be  destroyed  by  insurrection  and  re- 
bellion, as  might  any  of  its  contemporaries  ;  but  it  was, 
to  all  intents  and  purposes,  a  single,  sovereign  people. 

It  has  of  late  become  the  fashion  among  those  who 


268 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


renounce,  as  all  real  students  of  political  history  must 
do,  the  purely  lawyer-like  theory  of  the  formation  of  the 
Constitution  held  by  Story,  Webster,  and  Curtis,  to  de- 
clare that  the  United  States  became  a  nation  only  by 
act  of  war,  in  the  great  struggle  from  1861  to  1865. 
This  is  the  view  advanced  by  Mr.  Randolph  Tucker,  in 
his  able  address  before  the  American  Social  Science  As- 
sociation, at  Saratoga,  in  1877  ;  and  it  has  been  more  re- 
cently put  forward  by  Dr.  Albion  W.  Small,  in  his  tract, 
^*^The  Beginnings  of  American  Nationality.^^  Dr. 
Small  says  :  ^^The  people  of  the  United  States  simply 
dodged  the  responsibility  of  formulating  their  will  upon 
the  distinct  subject  of  national  sovereignty,  until  the 
legislation  of  the  sword  began  in  1861.^'  We  cannot 
accede  to  this  view.  Midway  between  those  who  hold 
that  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution  established  an 
indissoluble  union  of  indestructible  States, and  those 
who  hold  that  the  question  of  nationality  was  decided 
seventy-five  years  later,  by  the  arbitrament  of  arms,  we 
assert  that  the  United  States  became  a  true  and  virtual 
nation  during  the  first  three  or  four  decades  of  its  his- 
tory. 

It  is  perfectly  true  that  the  Convention  of  1787 
dodged  the  vital  question  of  nationality.  Had  the  Con- 
stitution contained  an  explicit  declaration  that,  in  any 
attempt  of  nullification  or  secession,  the  general  govern- 
ment might  raise  the  military  force  of  the  country,  as 
was  done  in  1861,  that  instrument  would  not  have  had 
a  chance  of  ratification  by  the  States.  On  the  other 
hand,  it  is  also  true  that,  even  after  the  point  reached 
in  our  story,  the  right  of  nullification  was  once  practi- 
cally asserted  (1832-33)  in  a  feeble  manner ;  while, 
thirty  years  later  still,  it  required  a  tremendous  exer- 
tion of  the  whole  military  and  financial  power  of  the 
government  to  put  down  a  slave-holders^  rebellion,  which 


EVENTS  OF  MADISON'S  ADMINISTRATION  269 

sought  to  shelter  itself  under  a  pretence  of  secession. 
But  we  are  now  talking,  not  of  names,  but  of  things  ; 
not  of  written  instruments  or  public  declarations,  but 
of  real  social  and  political  forces.  And  if,  in  this  spirit, 
it  is  asked,  when  the  United  States  became  a  nation, 
the  most  reasonable  answer  is,  it  became  so  during  the 
period  of  which  we  have  been  writing. 

Many  causes  contributed  to  that  result  in  addition  to 
the  mere  fact  of  the  States  living  together  for  nearly 
thirty  years,  in  more  or  less  of  harmony,  accustoming 
themselves  to  the  idea  of  common  interests,  common 
laws,  and  a  common  destiny,  becoming  familiar  with  the 
signs  and  emblems  of  sovereignty — a  common  flag,  a 
common  money,  a  national  judiciary,  a  national  army, 
and  a  Congress  of  the  United  States  legislating  for 
the  general  welfare  and  for  the  protection  of  the  public 
honor.  If,  in  spite  of  adverse  conditions,  the  course  of 
affairs  be,  on  the  whole,  more  favorable  than  unfavora- 
ble, there  is,  merely  in  such  abiding  together,  virtue 
enough  to  create  in  time  much  of  the  sentiment  of 
nationality.  It  is  to  be  remembered  that  during  the 
period  covered  by  this  narrative  a  vast  majority  of 
those  who  had  helped  to  form  the  Constitution,  with  so 
much  of  doubt  and  reservation,  passed  away.  At  its 
close,  a  still  larger  proportion  of  the  people  were  those 
who  had  been  born  under  the  government,  or  who  had 
first  come  to  understand  the  meaning  of  political  terms 
since  the  Constitution  was  formed.  To  all  of  these  the 
existence  of  the  United  States  appeared  a  natural  and 
necessary  thing,  as  it  could  not  possibly  have  appeared 
to  any  of  the  previous  generation. 

Moreover,  great  social  and  industrial  changes  had 
been  at  work.  Population  had  more  than  doubled  in 
the  time,  not  only  extending  itself  over  new  lands  at  the 
West,  but  growing  ever  deeper  within  its  familiar  seats 


270 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


and  filling  up  the  vacant  spaces  upon  the  Atlantic  sea- 
board of  1783.  Transportation  had  been  quickened,  al- 
though the  great  changes  in  this  respect  were  yet  to 
come,  for  the  Erie  Canal  was  not  opened  throughout  its 
entire  extent  until  1825.  The  beginnings  of  manufact- 
ures had  appeared  even  before  1812  ;  and  the  exigen- 
cies of  the  war  with  England  caused  a  great  upbuilding 
of  domestic  industries  for  the  supply  of  a  market  which 
had  become  as  broad  as  the  whole  extent  of  our  settled 
lands.  How  strong  was  the  hold  of  these  new  interests 
upon  the  American  people,  we  have  seen  strikingly  evi- 
denced by  the  tariff  of  1816. 

Strictly  political  causes,  too,  had  entered  to  made  a 
nation  of  that  which  at  the  beginning  was  only  what 
might  become  a  nation.  A  hundred  measures  of  legis- 
lation, whatever  of  opposition  or  animosity  they  might 
have  provoked,  had  asserted  the  authority  of  the  United 
States.  The  genius  of  Hamilton  and  his  co-laborers 
had  built  up  a  government  which  was  real  and  vital, 
and  which  made  itself  felt  in  all  parts  of  the  land. 
Acts  of  executive  power,  whether  against  insurgents  or 
against  public  enemies,  had  taught  the  lesson  of  obe- 
dience and  respect.  A  noble  judiciary,  under  a  great 
Chief -Justice,  had  taken  righteous  advantage  of  the  am- 
ple provisions  of  the  Constitution,  to  expand  the  frame 
of  the  government  to  its  proper  proportions,  and  to 
fill  its  veins  with  the  life-blood  of  a  real  nationality. 
War,  too,  had  come,  with  its  hopes  and  its  fears,  with 
its  triumphs  and  its  reverses,  with  its  pride  and  its 
shame,  to  create  the  deep,  instinctive  feeling  of  common 
interests  and  a  common  destiny. 

Hardly  less  than  any  of  these  causes  operating  to 
create  nationality  had  been  the  influence,  on  which  we 
have  before  remarked,  of  the  new  States  formed  upon 
the  lands  across  the  mountains.    Few  were  the  doubts 


EVENTS  OF  Madison's  ADMiKisTRATiON  271 


and  small  were  the  reservations  with  which  these  hardy 
pioneers  rendered  their  allegiance^  after  the  great  ques- 
tion of  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi  had  been  set- 
tled in  their  favor.  Here  no  pride  of  Statehood  dimin- 
ished the  affection  and  devotion  of  the  citizen  to  the 
government  under  which  he  held  the  title  of  his  land  ; 
to  which  he  looked  for  protection  from  the  savage 
foe  ;  which  opened  up  the  navigation  of  the  rivers  to 
his  clumsy  flatboat ;  which  endowed  the  school  in  which 
his  children  learned  to  read.  Constitutional  scruples 
were  at  a  discount  with  these  rude^  strongs  brave  men  ; 
and  lawyer-like  distinctions  over  the  divisions  of  sover- 
eignty troubled  them  little.  They  wanted  a  govern- 
ment, and  a  strong  government ;  and  in  the  continually 
growing  power  of  the  Kepublic  they  found  the  com- 
petent object  of  their  civic  trust  and  pride  and  love. 

But  the  greatest;,  by  far^  of  the  causes  which^  between 
1789  and  1817;,  promoted  the  growth  of  nationality,  was 
the  change  in  the  attitude  and  the  relations  of  the  re- 
publican party,  the  original  trustee  and  guardian  of  the 
doctrine  of  States^-rights  and  '^'^  strict  construction.^^ 
That  change  itself  was  in  part  due  to  the  social  and 
economic  causes  we  have  here  enumerated,  ameliorating 
the  original  feelings  of  distrust  and  dislike  with  which 
the  old  leaders  contemplated  federal  authority,  and  con- 
vincing them,  more  and  more,  of  the  absolute  necessity 
of  a  real  and  efficient  government,  to  provide  for  com- 
mon defence  and  to  promote  the  general  welfare.  In 
part,  and  in  a  large  part,  it  was  due  to  the  coming-on 
of  young  leaders  who  knew  not  Joseph, who  had 
grown  up  under  the  Constitution,  and  were  men  of  their 
age,  ready  to  apprehend  the  needs  of  the  time  and 
prompt  to  act,  with  energy  and  decisiveness,  upon  ques- 
tions affecting  the  country  as  they  found  it. 

Chiefly,  however,  it  was  its  own  accession  to  power 


272 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION 


and  to  responsibility  which  changed  the  attitude  of  tha 
republican  party  upon  all  matters  relating  to  the  au- 
thority of  the  general  government.  The  phenomenon 
is  a  perfectly  familiar  one  ;  and  such  changes  are  some- 
times ludicrous  in  their  precipitancy.  The  republican 
party  had  set  out  by  striving  to  limit  the  exercise  of 
power  on  the  part  of  the  United  States ;  it  had  de- 
nounced a  national  debt,  as  a  sure  means  of  political 
corruption  ;  it  had  complained  of  the  multiplication  of 
offices,  as  bribing  and  overawing  the  people  ;  it  had  op- 
posed excises,  stamp  duties,  and  direct  taxes,  as  forms  of 
tyranny  ;  it  had  declared  the  National  Bank  to  be  grossly 
unconstitutional.  When  it  obtained  possession  of  the 
government  we  find  it,  after  Mr.  Jefferson^s  first  virtu- 
ous impulse  was  exhausted,  increasing  expenses,  making 
changes  in  the  civil  service  for  political  reasons  ;  multi- 
plying offices,  and  acting  in  every  way  as  men  do  who 
have  authority  and  like  to  exercise  it.  Then  came  the 
unexpected  opportunity  for  the  acquisition  of  Louisiana. 
Mr.  Jefferson  himself  admitted  it  to  be  an  act  beyond 
the  Constitution.  It  was,  moreover,  a  measure  of  such 
tremendous  scope,  of  such  truly  imperial  character,  one 
so  profoundly  changing  the  terms  and  conditions  upon 
which  the  States  originally  entered  the  Union,  as  to  be 
in  the  fullest  sense  revolutionary.  Fortunately,  the 
temptation  was  too  great  for  Mr.  Jefferson^s  constitu- 
tional scruples  ;  and  the  vast  empire  beyond  the  Missis- 
sippi became  ours.  After  such  a  surrender  of  the  prin- 
ciple of  limited  powers,  by  the  only  party  which  had 
undertaken  to  maintain  it,  what  could  stay  the  course 
of  nationality  ? 

But  this  was  not  to  be  the  end.  Mr.  Jefferson  for 
eight  years  dodged,  as  well  as  he  could,  the  stones 
flung  at  him  alike  by  France  and  by  England  ;  and  Mr. 
Madison,  with  quite  as  little  relish  for  fighting,  hoped 


EVENTS  OF  MADISOTSr's  ADMINISTRATION  273 

that  the  cup  might  pass  from  his  own  lips,  and  that  he 
would  be  able  to  get  through  his  term  without  resort  to 
hostilities.  But  the  young  men  of  his  party  would  not 
be  denied  ;  war  was  forced  upon  him,  and,  by  an  inevit- 
able consequence,  his  closing  years  of  office  witnessed 
every  act  and  measure  of  federal  usurpation  against 
which  he  had  been  accustomed  to  protest.  The  repub- 
lican party  exercised  the  coercion  it  had  denounced 
when  attempted  by  a  federalist  administration  ;  it 
learned,  by  hearing  it  from  the  lips  of  federalist  oppo- 
nents, how  hateful  is  the  sound  of  threatened  nullifica- 
tion and  secession.  The  republican  party,  in  its  turn, 
created  a  great  national  debt  and  established  a  sinking 
fund ;  it  excised  whiskey  and  stills ;  it  laid  direct 
taxes ;  it  imposed  stamp  duties ;  it  passed  a  distinctly 
protective  tariff.  To  crown  all,  the  republican  party 
chartered  a  National  Bank,  three  and  a  half  times  as 
large  as  that  of  Hamilton.  Who,  then,  was  left  to  pro- 
test against  the  United  States  becoming  a  nation  ? 
18 


APPENDIX  I 

raE  ELECTOKAL  VOTE  IN  DETAIL.  1789-1818 


APPENDIX  I  277 


ELECTORAL  VOTE  OF  1789. 


States.* 

1  George  Washington, 
1      of  Virginia. 

1  John  Adams, 

of  Massachusetts. 

1  John  Jay, 

1      of  New  York. 

1  R.  H.  Harrison, 
1      of  Maryland. 

John  Rutledge, 
of  South  Carolina. 

John  Hancock, 
1      of  Massachusetts. 

George  Clinton, 
of  New  York. 

Samuel  Huntingdon, 
of  Connecticut. 

1  John  Milton, 
1      of  Georgia. 

James  Armstrong, 
of  Georgia. 

Benjamin  Lincoln, 
of  Massachusetts. 

Edward  Telfair, 
of  Georgia. 

1  Vacancies. 

Connecticut  

7 

5 

2 

Delaware  

3 

3 

Georgia  

5 

2 

1 

1 

1 

6 

6 

2 

Massachusetts  

10 

io 

New  Hampshire  . . 

5 

5 

6 

1 

5 

10 

8 

2 

South  Carolina  . . . 

7 

6 

1 

10 

5 

1 

1 

3 

2 

Total  

69 

34 

9 

6 

6 

4 

3 

2 

2 

1 

1 

1 

4 

♦  The  New  York  Legislature  failed  to  agree  on  the  mode  of  choosing  electors. 
North  Carolina  and  Rhode  Island  did  not  ratify  the  Constitution  in  time  to  take 
part  in  the  election.  Each  elector  voted  for  two  persons  without  designating  which 
one  he  wished  to  make  president. 


ELECTORAL  VOTE  OF  1792. 


CO 

1 

States. 

eorge  Washii 
of  Virginia. 

3hn  Adams, 
of  Massach 

eorge  Clin  tor 
of  New  Yor 

homas  Jeffer 
of  Virginia. 

aron  Burr, 
of  New  Yor 

acancies. 

•-5 

O 

H 

> 

9 

9 

3 

3 

4 

*4 

4 

*8 

8 

16 

16 

New  Hampshire  

6 

6 

New  Jersey  

7 

7 

12 

12 

North  Carolina  

12 

12 

15 

14 

1 

4 

4 

8 

7 

3 

3 

*i 

21 

2i 

132 

77 

50 

4 

1 

3 

278  APPENDIX  I 


ELECTORAL  VOTE  OF  1796. 


States. 

ohn  Adams, 
of  Massachusetts. 

homas  Jefferson, 
of  Virginia. 

homas  Pinckney, 
of  South  Carolina. 

aron  Burr, 
of  New  York. 

amuel  Adams, 
of  Massachusetts. 

liver  Ellsworth, 
of  Connecticut. 

eorge  Clinton, 
of  New  York. 

ahn  Jay, 

of  New  York. 

imes  Iredell, 
of  N.  Carolina. 

eorge  Washington, 
of  Virginia. 

Dhn  Henry, 
of  Maryland. 

Johnson, 
of  N.  Carolina. 

.  C.  Pinckney,  1 
of  S.  Carolina.  1 

*-> 

H 

H 

CQ 

•-3 

1-9 

QQ 

0 

9 

4 

5 

Delaware  

3 

3 

Georgia  

'4 

4 

Kentucky  

4 

4 

Maryland 

7 

4 

*4 

3 

2 

Massachusetts  .... 

16 

13 

1 

New  Hampshire  . . 

6 

6 

New  Jersev  

7 

7 

New  York   

12 

12 

North  Carolina  . . . 

1 

ii 

1 

6 

3 

1 

1 

1 

14 

2 

13 

4 

4 

South  Carolina  . .  . 

8 

8 

Tennessee   

3 

3 

4 

'4 

1 

20 

1 

1 

15 

3 

1 

Total  

71 

68 

59 

30 

15 

11 

7 

5 

3 

2 

2 

2 

1 

ELECTORAL  VOTE  OF  1800. 


States. 

Thomas  Jeffer- 
son, of  Vir- 
ginia. 

Aaron  Burr,  of 
New  York. 

John  Adams,  of 
Massachusetts. 

C.  C.  Pinckney, 
of 

South  Carolina. 

John  Jay,  of 
New  York. 

9 

9 

3 

3 

4 

4 

4 

4 

5 

5 

'5 

5 

Massachusetts  

16 

16 

6 

6 

New  Jersey  

7 

7 

i2 

12 

8 

8 

"4 

"4 

8 

8 

7 

7 

4 

3 

*8 

*8 

3 

3 

"4 

4 

21 

2i 

73 

73 

65 

64 

1 

APPENDIX  I  279 


ELECTORAL  VOTE  OF  1804.* 


States. 

President. 

Vice-President. 

Thomas  Jef- 
ferson, of  Vir- 
ginia. 

C.  C.  Pinck- 
ney,  of  South 
Carolina. 

Geo.  Clinton, 
of  New  York. 

Rufus  King, 
of  New  York. 

fonnertioi  f 

Q 
if 

9 

Delaware 

3 

q 
o 

Georgia 

6 

6 

Kentucky   

8 

•  • 

8 

•1 

9 

2 

9 

19 

19 

New^  Hampshire 

7 

7 

New  Jersey  

8 

8 

19 

19 

North  Carolina  

14 

14 

Ohio 

3 

3 

20 

20 

4 

4 

10 

10 

Tennessee  

5 

5 

6 

6 

Virginia  

24 

24 

Total ...   

162 

14 

162 

14 

*At  the  election  of  1804,  electors  for  the  first  time  cast  their  votes  separately  for 
candidates  for  the  presidency  and  for  candidates  for  the  vice-presidency.  This 
was  the  effect  of  the  twelfth  constitutional  amendment.    See  pp.  133,  163-5,  168-9. 


ELECTORAL  VOTE  OF  1808. 


President. 

Vice-President. 

States. 

imes  Madi- 
son, of  Vir- 
ginia. 

.  C.  Pinck- 
ney,  of  S. 
Carolina. 

eorge  Clin- 
ton, of  New 
York. 

acancies. 

eorge  Clin- 
ton, of  New 
York. 

ufus  King, 
of  New 
York. 

ohn  Lang- 
don,  ofNew 
Hampshire. 

ames  Madi- 
son, of  Vir- 

ginia. 

ames  Mon- 

roe,  of  Vir- 

ginia. 

acancies.  | 

*-> 

O 

O 

> 

O 

> 

Connecticut  

9 

9 

Delaware  

3 

3 

*6 

'6 

7 

7 

*i 

9 

2 

9 

2 

Massachusetts  

19 

19 

New  Hampshire, . . 

7 

7 

'8 

"s 

New  York  

13 

13 

North  Carolina .... 

11 

3 

11 

Ohio  

3 

20 

20 

Rhode  Island  

*4 

South  Carolina.... 

io 

io 

5 

5 

6 

*6 

24 

24 

122 

47 

6 

1 

113 

47 

9 

3 

3 

1 

280  APPENDIX  I 


ELECTORAL  VOTE  OF  1812. 


President. 

Vice-President. 

States. 

James  Mad- 

De Witt  Clin- 

m 

E  1  b  r  i  d  g  e 

Jared  Inger- 

CO 

<a 

ison,  of  Vir- 

ton, of 

C 

Gerry,  of 

soU,  of 

C 

ginia. 

New  York. 

Massachusetts. 

Pennsylvania. 

o 

<A 

>► 

Connecticut .... 

9 

9 

Delaware  

4 

4 

*8 

*8 

Kentucky  

12 

12 

3 

3 

6 

*5 

6 

5 

•• 

Massachusetts . . 

22 

2 

20 

N.  Hampshire.. 

8 

1 

7 

New  Jersey  

8 

8 

New  York  

29 

North  Carolina. 

is 

15 

Ohio 

7 

7 

i 

Pennsylvania  .. 

25 

25 

Rhode  Island. . . 

'4 

*4 

South  Carolina. 

ii 

ii 

8 

8 

8 

8 

25 

25 

Total  

128 

89 

1 

131 

86 

1 

ELECTORAL  VOTE  OF  1816. 


President. 

Vice-President. 

States. 

James  Mon- 
roe, of  Vir- 
ginia. 

S  ^ 

Vacancies. 

D.  D.  Tomp- 
kins, of 
New  York. 

John  E.  How- 
ard, of 
Maryland. 

James  Ross, 
of 

Pennsylvania. 

John  Marshall, 
of 

Virginia. 

R.  G.  Harper, 
of 

Maryland. 

Vacancies. 

Connecticut  

9 

3 

5 

4 

*i 

3 

*i 

8 

8 

3 

3 

12 
3 

12 

3 

lOO  ;00CO 

8 

Massachusetts  .... 
New  Hampshire  . . 

'8 

8 

29 

29 

North  Carolina  . . . 
Ohio  

15 

8 

15 

8 

Pennsylvania. .... 
South  Carolina  . . . 

25 
4 

11 
8 

25 
4 
11 

8 

8 

8 

25 

25 

Total  

183 

34 

4 

183 

22 

5 

4 

8 

4 

APPENDIX  II 


L— POPULATION  AT  THE  FIRST  FOUR  CENSUSES 

II.— NET  ORDINARY  RECEIPTS  AND  EXPENDITURES, 
AND  DISBURSEMENTS  ON  ACCOUNT  OF  THE 
PUBLIC  DEBT,  1790-1817 


APPENDIX  II  283 


POPULATION  AT  THE  FIRST  FOUR  CENSUSES. 


1790 

1800 

1810 

1820 

United  States. 

3,929,214 

5.308,483 

7,239,881 

9,633,822 

127,901 
14,255 
275,148 
72,749 
33,039 
340,985 
55,162 
147.178 
564,135 
152,923 
298,269 
407,350 
523,159 
8,765 
75,448 
66,557 
244,022 
277,426 
1,372,111 
638,829 
581.295 
1,047,507 
83,015 
502,741 
422,771 
235,966 
1,065,116 

237,946 
59,096 

82,548 

251,002 
64,273 
14,093 

162,686 

261,942 
72,674 
24,023 
252,433 
12,282 
24,520 
406,511 
76,556 
228,705 
380,546 
472,040 
4,762 
40,352 
20,845 
214,460 
245,562 
959,049 
555,500 
230,760 
810,091 
76,931 
515,115 
261,727 
217,895 
974,600 

5,641 
220,955 

73,677 

96,540 
319,728 
378.787 

151,719 
341,548 
422,845 

8,850 

New  York  

Ohio  

141,885 
184,139 
340.120 
393,751 

183,858 
211,149 
689,051 
478,103 

45,365 
602.365 

69,122 
345,591 
105,602 
154,465 
880,200 

South  Carolina  

434.373 
68,825 

249,073 
35.691 
85,425 

747,610 

Maine  belonged  to  Massachusetts  until  1820,  and  for  all  political  purposes  its  pop- 
ulation was  included  in  that  of  the  parent  State.  In  order  to  show  Maine  in  its 
continuous  growth,  we  have  here  separated  its  population  from  that  of  Massa- 
chusetts. 

To  exhibit  the  further  progress  of  this  wonderful  career,  we  give  the  figures  of 
the  total  population  at  the  censuses  following  : 


1820   9,633,822 

1830   12,866,020 

1840   17,069,453 

1850   23,191.876 

1860    31,443,321 

1870    38,558,371 

1880    50,155,783 

1S90...,   62,622,250 


284 


APPEIsTDIX  II 


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APPENDIX  II 


285 


Total 
Net  Ordinary 
Expenditures. 

$1,919.589  52 
5,896,258  47 
1,749,070  73 
3.545,299  OO 
4,362,541  72 
2,551,303  15 
2,836,110  52 

4,001, 1 JU  4-« 

6,480,166  72 
7,411,369  97 
4,981,669  90 
3,737,079  91 
4,00.^,824  24 
4,452,858  91 
6,357,234  62 
6,080,209  36 
4,984.572  89 
6,504,338  85 
7,414,672  14 
,5,311,082  28 
5,592,604  86 
17,829,498  70 
28,082,396  92 
30,127,686  38 
26,953,571  00 
23,373,482  58 
15,454,609  92 
13.808.673  78 

Calendar  Years. 

1 

$1,083,971  61 
4,672,664  38 
511,451  01 
750,350  74 
1,378,920  66 
801.847  58 
1,259;422  62 

1,039,391  68 
1,337,613  22 
1,114,768  45 
1,462,929  40 
1,842,635  76 
2,191,009  43 
3,768.598  75 
2.890,137  01 
1,697,897  51 
1,423,285  61 
1,215,803  79 
1,101,144  98 
1,367,291  40 
1,683,088  21 
1,729.435  61 
2,208,029  70 
2,898,870  47 
2,989,741  17 
3,518,936  76 
3,835,839  51 

1 

iiiiliiiiiM^^ 

i 

$27,000  00  \ 

13,648  85 

27,282  83 

13,042  46 

23,475  68 
113,563  98 

62,396  58 

16,470  09 

20,302  19 
31  22 
9,000  00 

94,000  00 

60,000  00 
116,500  00 
196,500  00 
234,200  00 
205,425  00 
213,575  00 
337,503  84 
117,625  00 
151,875  00 
277,845  00 
167,358  28 
167,394  86 
530,750  00 
274,512  16 
319,463  71 
505,7t)4  27 

.—Net  Ordinary 

$61,408  97 
410,562  03 
274,784  04 
382,631  89 
1,381,347  76 
2,858,081  84 
3,448,710  03 
2,111,424  00 
915,561  87 
1,215,230  58 
1,189,832  75 
1,597,500  00 
1,649,641  44 
1,722,064  47 
1,884,067  80 
2,427,758  80 
1,654,244  20 
1,965,566  39 
8,959.365  15 
6,446,600  10 
7,311,290  60 
8,6f>0,000  25 
3,908,278  30 
3,314,598  49 
2,953,695  00 

1 

$632,804  03 
1,100,702  09 

  1,130,249  08 

2,639,097  59 
2,480.910  13 
1,260,263  84 
1,039,402  46 
2.009,522  30 

  2,560,878  77 

  822,055  85 

  875,423  93 

  712,78128 

  1,224,355  38 

1,288,685  91 

. .    . ,       3,345,772  17 

  2,032,828 19 

  19,652,013  02 

  16,012,096  80 

  5,622,715 10 

mtmmmmmmmmimmmm 

286 


APPENDIX  II 

C.— DiSBUBSEMENTS  ON  ACCOUNT  OP  PUBLIC  DEBT. 


Year. 


1791  

1792  

1793  

1794  

1795  

1796  

1797  

1798  

1799   

1800  

1801  

1802  

1803  

1804  


Interest. 


$1,177,863  03 
2,373,611  28 
2,097,859  17 
2,752,52^^  04 
2.947,059  06 
3,239,347  68 
3,172,516  73 
2,955,875  90 
2,815.651  41 
3,402,601  04 
4,411,830  06 
4,239,172  16 
3,949,462  36 
4,185,048  74 


Public  Debt. 


$699,984  23 
693,050  25 
2,6:33,048  07 
2,743,7T1  13 
2,841,639  37 
2,577,126  01 
2,617,250  12 
976,032  09 
1,706,578  84 
1,138,563  11 
2,879,876  98 
5,294,235  24 
3.306,697  07 
3,977,206  07 


Year. 


1805... 
1806 . . . 
1807... 
1808... 

1809  .. 

1810  .. 

1811  .. 
1812... 
1813  .. 
1814... 
1815... 
1816... 
1817.. 
1818... 


Interest. 


2,657,114  22 

3,368,968  26 
8,369,578  48 
2,557,074  23 
2,866,074  90 
8,163,671  09 
2,585,435  57 
2,451,272  57 
3,599,455  22 
4,593,239  04 
5,590,090  24 
7,cS22,923  U 
4,536,282  55 
6,209,954  03 


Public  Debt 


$4,583,960  63 
5,572,018  64 
2,938,141  62 
7,701,288  96 
3,586,479  26 
4,835,241  12 
5,414,564  43 
1,998,349  88 
7,508,668  22 
3,307.304  90 
6,638,832  11 
17,048,139  59 
20,886,753  57 
15,086,247  59 


APPENDIX  m 


THE  CABINETS  OF  WASHINGTON,  JOHN  ADAMS, 
JEFFERSON,  AND  MADISON 

1789  TO  March  3,  1817 


Note. — In  preparing  this  table  it  has  been  an  object  in  view  to 
present  to  the  eye,  approximately,  the  length  of  service  of  each 
person  named.  Hence  the  repetition  of  names  year  after  year. 
The  statements,  however,  are  only  intended  to  be  approximate. 
For  example,  if  a  cabinet  officer  were  appointed  on  the  27th  of 
December,  he  would  not  appear  in  these  lists  until  the  year  follow- 
ing. The  true  and  just  effect  is  more  nearly  produced  by  this 
method  than  it  would  be  by  recording  such  very  small  fractions  of 
the  year.  In  several  cases,  where  three  persons  in  succession  occu- 
pied the  same  office  in  one  year,  the  exigencies  of  the  types  have 
caused  one  of  the  names  to  be  mentioned  in  foot-note. 


APPENDIX  III 


289 


SECRETARIES  OF  STATE  AND  OF  THE  TREASURY 


1789  

1790  

1791  

1792  

1793  

1794  

1795  

1796  

1797  

1798  

1799  

1800  

1801  

1802  

1803  

1804  

1805  

1806  

1807  

1808  

1809  

1810  

1811  

1812  

1813  

1814  

1815  

1816  

1817 1  . . . 


Secretaries  of  State. 


Jefferson  

Jefferson  

Jefferson  

Jefferson  

Jefferson  

Randolph  

Randolph.  Pickering 

Pickering  

Pickering  

Pickering  

Pickering  

Pickering.  Marshall  . 
Marshall.    Madison . . . 

Madison  

Madison  

Madison   

Madison   

Madison  

Madison  

Madison  

Madison.  Smith  

Smith  

Smith.  Monroe  

Monroe  

Monroe  

Monroe  

Monroe  

Monroe  

Monroe  


Secretaries  of  the  Treasury. 


Hamilton. 
Hamilton. 
Hamilton. 
Hamilton. 
Hamilton. 
Hamilton. 

Hamilton.  Wolcott, 

Wolcott. 

Wolcott. 

Wolcott. 

Wolcott. 

Wolcott. 

Dexter.  Gallatin. 

Gallatin. 

Gallatin. 

Gallatin. 

Gallatin. 

Gallatin. 

Gallatin. 

Gallatin. 

Gallatin. 

Gallatin. 

Gallatin. 

Gallatin. 

Gallatin. 

Gallatin.  Campbell. 
Dallas.* 

Dallas.  Crawford. 
Crawford. 


*  Dallas  became  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  in  October,  1814. 


t  March  3d. 


290 


APPENDIX  III 


SECRETARIES  OF  WAR  AND  OF  THE  NAVY 


Year. 


Secretaries  of  War. 


Knox  

Knox  

Knox  

Knox  

Knox  

Knox  

Pickering  

Pickering.  McHenry. 

McHenry  

McHenry  

McHenry  

McHenry.  Dexter  .  .  . 
Dexter.  *    Dearborn .  . 

Dearborn  

Dearborn  

Dearborn  

Dearborn  

Dearborn  

Dearborn  

Dearborn  

Dearborn.    Eustis. . . . 

Eustis  

Eustis  

Eustis   

Eustis  Armstrong  . .  . 
Armstrong.  Monroe  f. 
Monroe.    Crawford.  .  . 

Crawford   

Crawford    


Secretaries  of  the  Navy. 


Department  not  created  until 
Adams- s  administration. 


Stoddert. 
Stoddert. 
Stoddert. 

Stoddert.  Smith. 

Smith. 

Smith. 

Smith. 

Smith.    J.  Crowninshield. 

J.  Crowninshield. 

J.  Crowninshield. 

J.  Crowninshield. 

J.  Crowninshield.    P.  Hamilton. 

P.  Hamilton. 

P.  Hamilton. 

P.  Hamilton. 

P.  Hamilton.  Jones. 

Jones.    B,  Crowninshield. 

B.  Crowninshield. 

B.  Crowninshield. 

B.  Crowninshield. 


*  Roger  Griswold  was  Secretary  of  War  from  February  8d  to  March  4th. 
t  In  addition  to  his  duties  as  Secretary  of  State.         X  March  3d. 


APPENDIX  III 


291 


ATTORNEYS-GENERAL 


Year. 

Attorneys-General. 

Year. 

Attorneys-General. 

1789. . 

Randolph. 

1804.. 

Lincoln. 

1790.. 

Randolph. 

1805.. 

Lincoln.  Smith.* 

1791 . . 

Randolph. 

1806.. 

Breckenridge. 

1793.. 

Randolph. 

1807.. 

Breckenridge.  Rodney. 

1793.. 

Randolph. 

1808. . 

Rodney. 

1794.. 

Randolph.  Bradford. 

1809.. 

Rodney- 

1795.. 

Bradford.  Lee. 

1810.. 

Rodney. 

1796.. 

Lee. 

1811.. 

Rodney.  Pinkney. 

1797. . 

Lee. 

1812.. 

Pinkney. 

1798.. 

Lee. 

1813.. 

Pinkney. 

1799.. 

Lee. 

1814.. 

Pinkney.  Rush. 

1800.. 

Lee. 

1815.. 

Rush. 

1801 . . 

Lee.  Lincoln. 

1816.. 

Rush. 

1802.. 

Lincoln. 

1817. , 

Rush. 

1803. . 

Lincoln. 

♦  Also  Breckenridge, 


APPENDIX  IV 
CONSTITUTION  OP  THE  UNITED  STATES 


CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 


We  the  People  of  the  United  States,  in  order  to  form  a  more 
perfect  Union,  establish  justice,  insure  domestic  tranquillity, 
provide  for  the  common  defence,  promote  the  general  welfare, 
and  secure  the  blessings  of  liberty  to  ourselves  and  our  pos- 
terity, do  ordain  and  establish  this  Constitution  for  the 
United  States  of  America. 

ARTICLE  L 

Section  1.  All  legislative  powers  herein  granted  shall  be 
vested  in  a  Congress  of  the  United  States,  which  shall  consist 
of  a  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives. 

Section  2.  The  House  of  Representatives  shall  be  composed 
of  members  chosen  every  second  year  by  the  people  of  the  sev- 
eral States,  and  the  electors  in  each  State  shall  have  the  quali- 
fications requisite  for  electors  of  the  most  numerous  branch  of 
the  State  Legislature. 

No  person  shall  be  a  Representative  who  shall  not  have 
attained  to  the  age  of  twenty-five  years,  and  been  seven  years 
a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  and  who  shall  not,  when  elected, 
be  an  inhabitant  of  that  State  in  which  he  shall  be  chosen. 

Representatives  and  direct  taxes  shall  be  apportioned  among 
the  several  States  which  may  be  included  within  this  Union, 
according  to  their  respective  numbers,  which  shall  be  deter- 
mined by  adding  to  the  whole  number  of  free  persons,  includ- 
ing those  bound  to  service  for  a  term  of  years,  and  excluding 
Indians  not  taxed,  three-fifths  of  all  other  persons.  The  actual 
enumeration  shall  be  made  within  three  years  after  the  first 
meeting  of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  and  within  every 
subsequent  term  of  ten  years,  in  such  manner  as  they  shall  by 
law  direct.  The  number  of  Representatives  shall  not  exceed 
one  for  every  thirty  thousand,  but  each  State  shall  have  at 
least  one  Representative  ;  and  until  such  enumeration  shall  be 
made,  the  State  of  New  Hampshire  shall  be  entitled  to  choose 
295 


296 


APPEIN^DIX  IV 


three;  Massachusetts  eight;  Rhode  Island  and  Providence  Plan- 
tations one;  Connecticut  five;  New  York  six;  New  Jersey  four; 
Pennsylvania  eight;  Delaware  one;  Maryland  six;  Virginia  ten; 
North  Carolina  five  ;  South  Carolina  five,  and  Georgia  three. 

When  vacancies  happen  in  the  representation  from  any  State, 
the  Executive  Authority  thereof  shall  issue  writs  of  election  to 
fill  such  vacancies. 

The  House  of  Representatives  shall  choose  their  Speaker  and 
other  oflacers  ;  and  shall  have  the  sole  power  of  impeachment. 

Section  3.  The  Senate  of  the  United  States  shall  be  com- 
posed of  two  Senators  from  each  State,  chosen  by  the  Legis- 
lature thereof,  for  six  years  ;  and  each  Senator  shall  have  one 
vote. 

Immediately  after  they  shall  be  assembled  in  consequence  of 
the  first  election,  they  shall  be  divided  as  equally  as  may  be 
into  three  classes.  The  seats  of  the  Senators  of  the  first  class 
shall  be  vacated  at  the  expiration  of  the  second  year,  of  the 
second  class  at  the  expiration  of  the  fourth  year,  and  of  the 
third  class  at  the  expiration  of  the  sixth  year,  so  that  one-third 
may  be  chosen  every  second  year  ;  and  if  vacancies  happen  by 
resignation,  or  otherwise,  during  the  recess  of  the  Legislature 
of  any  State,  the  Executive  thereof  may  make  temporary 
appointments  until  the  next  meeting  of  the  Legislature,  which 
shall  then  fill  such  vacancies. 

No  person  shall  be  a  Senator  who  shall  not  have  attained  to 
the  age  of  thirty  years,  and  been  nine  years  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States,  and  who  shall  not,  when  elected,  be  an  inhabi- 
tant of  that  State  for  which  he  shall  be  chosen. 

The  Vice-President  of  the  United  States  shall  be  President  of 
the  Senate,  but  shall  have  no  vote,  unless  they  be  equally 
divided. 

The  Senate  shall  choose  their  other  officers,  and  also  a 
President  pro  temporej  in  the  absence  of  the  Vice-President,  or 
when  he  shall  exercise  the  office  of  President  of  the  United 
States. 

The  Senate  shall  have  the  sole  power  to  try  all  impeach- 
ments. When  sitting  for  that  purpose,  they  shall  be  on  oath 
or  affirmation.  When  the  President  of  the  United  States  is 
tried,  the  Chief  Justice  shall  preside ;  and  no  person  shall  be 
convicted  without  the  concurrence  of  two-thirds  of  the  mem- 
bers present. 

Judgment  in  cases  of  impeachment  shall  not  extend  further 
than  to  removal  from  office,  and  disqualification  to  hold  and 
enjoy  any  office  of  honor,  trust  or  profit  under  the  United 
States ;  but  the  party  convicted  shall  nevertheless  be  liable 
and  subject  to  indictment,  trial,  judgment  and  punishment, 
according  to  law. 


APPEIS^DIX  IV 


297 


Section  4.  The  times,  places  and  manner  of  holding  elec- 
tions for  Senators  and  Representatives,  shall  be  prescribed  in 
each  State  by  the  Legislature  thereof ;  but  the  Congress  may 
at  any  time  by  law  make  or  alter  such  regulations,  except  as  to 
the  places  of  choosing  Senators. 

The  Congress  shall  assemble  at  least  once  in  every  year,  and 
such  meeting  shall  be  on  the  first  Monday  in  December,  unless 
they  shall  by  law  appoint  a  different  day. 

Section  5.  Each  House  shall  be  the  judge  of  the  elections, 
returns  and  qualifications  of  its  own  members,  and  a  ma- 
jority of  each  shall  constitute  a  quorum  to  do  business  ;  but 
a  smaller  number  may  adjourn  from  day  to  day,  and  may  be 
authorized  to  compel  the  attendance  of  absent  members,  in 
such  manner,  and  under  such  penalties  as  each  House  may 
provide. 

Each  House  may  determine  the  rules  of  its  proceedings, 
punish  its  members  for  disorderly  behavior,  and,  with  the 
concurrence  of  two-thirds,  expel  a  member. 

Each  House  shall  keep  a  journal  of  its  proceedings,  and 
from  time  to  time  publish  the  same,  excepting  such  parts  as 
may  in  their  judgment  require  secrecy  ;  and  the  yeas  and  nays 
of  the  members  of  either  House  on  any  question  shall,  at  the 
desire  of  one-fifth  of  those  present,  be  entered  on  the  Journal. 

Neither  House,  during  the  session  of  Congress,  shall,  with- 
out the  consent  of  the  other,  adjourn  for  more  than  three  days, 
nor  to  any  other  place  than  that  in  which  the  two  Houses  shall 
be  sitting. 

Section  6.  The  Senators  and  Representatives  shall  receive 
a  compensation  for  their  services,  to  be  ascertained  by  law, 
and  paid  out  of  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States.  They  shall 
in  all  cases,  except  treason,  felony  and  breach  of  the  peace,  be 
privileged  from  arrest  during  their  attendance  at  the  session  of 
their  respective  Houses,  and  in  going  to  and  returning  from 
the  same  ;  and  for  any  speech  or  debate  in  either  House,  they 
shall  not  he  questioned  in  any  other  place. 

No  Senator  or  Representative  shall,  during  the  time  for 
which  he  was  elected,  be  appointed  to  any  civil  office  under 
the  authority  of  the  United  States,  which  shall  have  been 
created,  or  the  emoluments  whereof  shall  have  been  in- 
creased during  such  time  ;  and  no  person  holding  any  ofRce 
under  the  United  States,  shall  be  a  member  of  either  House 
during  his  continuance  in  office. 

Section  7.  All  bills  for  raising  revenue  shall  originate  in 
the  House  of  Representatives  ;  but  the  Senate  may  propose  or 
concur  with  amendments  as  on  other  bills. 

Every  bill  which  shall  have  passed  the  House  of  Represent- 
atives and  the  Senate,  shall,  before  it  become  a  law,  be  pre- 


298 


APPENDIX  IV 


sented  to  the  President  of  the  United  States ;  if  he  approve  he 
shall  sign  it,  but  if  not  he  shall  return  it,  with  his  objections 
to  that  House  in  which  it  shall  have  originated,  who  shall 
enter  the  objections  at  large  on  their  journal,  and  proceed  to 
reconsider  it.  If  after  such  reconsideration  two-thirds  of  that 
House  shall  agree  to  pass  the  bill,  it  shall  be  sent,  together 
with  the  objections,  to  the  other  House,  by  which  it  shall  like- 
wise be  reconsidered,  and  if  approved  by  two-thirds  of  that 
House,  it  shall  become  a  law.  But  in  all  such  cases  the  votes 
of  both  Houses  shall  be  determined  by  yeas  and  nays,  and  the 
names  of  the  persons  voting  for  and  against  the  bill  shall  be 
entered  on  the  journal  of  each  House  respectively.  If  any  bill 
shall  not  be  returned  by  the  President  within  ten  days  (Sun- 
days excepted)  after  it  shall  have  been  presented  to  him,  the 
same  shall  be  a  law,  in  like  manner  as  if  he  had  signed  it, 
unless  the  Congress  by  their  adjournment  prevent  its  return, 
in  which  case  it  shall  not  be  a  law. 

Every  order,  resolution,  or  vote  to  which  the  concurrence  of 
the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  may  be  necessary 
(except  on  a  question  of  adjournment)  shall  be  presented  to  the 
President  of  the  United  States;  and  before  the  same  shall 
take  effect,  shall  be  approved  by  him,  or  being  disapproved  by 
him,  shall  be  repassed  by  two-thirds  of  the  Senate  and  House 
of  Representatives,  according  to  the  rules  and  limitations  pre- 
scribed in  the  case  of  a  bill. 

Section  8.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  lay  and  col- 
I  lect  taxes,  duties,  imposts  and  excises,  to  pay  the  debts  and 
\  provide  for  the  common  defence  and  general  welfare  of  the 
United  States  ;  but  all  duties,  imposts  and  excises  shall  be 
uniform  throughout  the  Uuited  States  ; 

To  borrow  money  on  the  credit  of  the  United  States ; 

To  regulate  commerce  with  foreign  nations,  and  among  the 
several  States,  and  with  the  Indian  tribes  ; 

To  establish  an  uniform  rule  of  naturalization,  and  uniform 
laws  on  the  subject  of  bankruptcies  throughout  the  United 
States ; 

To  coin  money,  regulate  the  value  thereof,  and  of  foreign 
coin,  and  fix  the  standard  of  weights  and  measures ; 

To  provide  for  the  punishment  of  counterfeiting  the  securi- 
ties and  current  coin  of  the  United  States; 

To  establish  post-offices  and  post-roads  ; 

To  promote  tlie  progress  of  science  and  useful  arts,  by  secur- 
ing for  limited  times  to  authors  and  inventors  the  exclusive 
right  to  their  respective  writings  and  discoveries ; 

To  constitute  tribunals  inferior  to  the  Supreme  Court ; 

To  define  and  punish  piracies  and  felonies  committed  on  the 
high  seas,  and  offences  against  the  law  of  nations  ; 


APPENDIX  IV 


299 


To  declare  war,  grant  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal,  and 
make  rules  concerning  captures  on  land  and  water  ; 

To  raise  and  support  armies,  but  no  appropriation  of  money 
to  that  use  shall  be  for  a  longer  term  than  two  years ; 

To  provide  and  maintain  a  navy  ; 

To  make  rules  for  the  government  and  regulation  of  the  land 
and  naval  forces ; 

To  provide  for  calling  forth  the  militia  to  execute  the  laws 
of  the  Union,  suppress  insurrections  and  repel  invasions  ; 

To  provide  for  organizing,  arming,  and  disciplining,  the 
militia,  and  for  governing  such  part  of  them  as  may  be  em- 
ployed in  the  service  of  the  United  States,  reserving  to  the 
States  respectively,  the  appointment  of  the  officers,  and  the 
authority  of  training  the  militia  according  to  the  discipline  pre- 
scribed by  Congress  ; 

To  exercise  exclusive  legislation  in  all  cases  whatsoever,  over 
such  district  (not  exceeding  ten  miles  square)  as  may,  by  ces- 
sion of  particular  States,  and  the  acceptance  of  Congress,  be- 
come the  seat  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  and  to 
exercise  like  authority  over  all  places  purchased  by  the  con- 
sent of  the  Legislature  of  the  State  in  which  the  same  shall  be, 
for  the  erection  of  forts,  magazines,  arsenals,  dry-docks,  and 
other  needful  buildings  ; — And 

To  make  all  laws  which  shall  be  necessary  and  proper  for 
carrying  into  execution  the  foregoing  powers,  and  all  other 
powers  vested  by  this  Constitution  in  the  Government  of  the 
United  States,  or  in  any  department  or  officer  thereof. 

Section  9.  The  migration  or  importation  of  such  persons  as 
any  of  the  States  now  existing  shall  think  proper  to  admit,  shall 
not  be  prohibited  by  the  Congress  prior  to  the  year  one  thou- 
sand eight  hundred  and  eight,  but  a  tax  or  duty  may  be  im- 
posed on  such  importation,  not  exceeding  ten  dollars  for  each 
person. 

The  privilege  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  shall  not  be  sus- 
pended, unless  when  in  cases  of  rebellion  or  invasion  the  pub- 
lic safety  may  require  it. 

No  bill  of  attainder  or  ex  post  facto  law  shall  be  passed. 

No  capitation,  or  other  direct,  tax  shall  be  laid,  unless  in  pro- 
portion to  the  census  or  enumeration  hereinbefore  directed  to 
be  taken. 

No  tax  or  duty  shall  be  laid  on  articles  exported  from  any 
State. 

No  preference  shall  be  given  by  any  regulation  of  commerce 
or  revenue  to  the  ports  of  one  State  over  those  of  another  ;  nor 
shall  vessels  bound  to,  or  from,  one  State,  be  obliged  to  enter, 
clear,  or  pay  duties  in  another. 

'  No  money  shall  be  drawn  from  the  Treasury,  but  in  con- 


300 


APPENDIX  IV 


sequence  of  appropriations  made  by  law  ;  and  a  regular  state- 
ment and  account  of  the  receipts  and  expenditures  of  all  public 
money  shall  be  published  from  time  to  time. 

No  title  of  nobility  shall  be  granted  by  the  United  States. 
And  no  person  holding  any  office  of  profit  or  trust  under  them, 
shall,  without  the  consent  of  the  Congress,  accept  of  any  pres- 
ent, emolument,  office,  or  title,  of  any  kind  whatever,  from 
any  king,  prince,  or  foreign  state. 

Section  10.  No  State  shall  enter  into  any  treaty,  alliance, 
or  confederation ;  grant  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal ;  coin 
money ;  emit  bills  of  credit ;  make  anything  but  gold  and 
silver  coin  a  tender  in  payment  of  debts  ;  pass  any  bill  of  at- 
tainder, ex  post  facto  law,  or  law  impairing  the  obligation  of 
contracts,  or  grant  any  title  of  nobility. 

No  State  shall,  without  the  consent  of  the  Congress,  lay  any 
imposts  or  duties  on  imports  or  exports,  except  what  may  be 
absolutely  necessary  for  executing  its  inspection  laws  ;  and  the 
net  produce  of  all  duties  and  imposts,  laid  by  any  State  on  im- 
ports or  exports,  shall  be  for  the  use  of  the  Treasury  of  the 
United  States  ;  and  all  such  laws  shall  be  subject  to  the  revision 
and  control  of  the  Congress. 

No  State  shall,  without  the  consent  of  Congress,  lay  any 
duty  of  tonnage,  keep  troops,  or  ships  of  war  in  time  of  peace, 
enter  into  any  agreement  or  compact  with  another  State,  or 
with  a  foreign  power,  or  engage  in  war,  unless  actually  in- 
vaded, or  in  such  imminent  danger  as  will  not  admit  of  delay. 


/  ARTICLE  II. 

SiTCTiON  1.  The  executive  power  shall  be  vested  in  a  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  of  America.  He  shall  hold  his  ofl^ce 
during  the  term  of  four  years,  and,  together  with  the  Vice- 
President,  chosen  for  the  same  term,  be  elected,  as  follows : 

Each  State  shall  appoint,  in  such  manner  as  the  Legislature 
thereof  may  direct,  a  number  of  electors,  equal  to  the  whole 
number  of  Senators  and  Representatives  to  which  the  State 
may  be  entitled  in  the  Congress  ;  but  no  Senator  or  Represent- 
ative, or  person  holding  an  office  of  trust  or  profit  under  the 
United  States,  shall  be  appointed  an  elector. 

[The  electors  shall  meet  in  their  respective  States,  and  vote 
by  ballot  for  two  persons,  of  whom  one  at  least  shall  not  be 
an  inhabitant  of  the  same  State  with  themselves.  And  they 
shall  make  a  list  of  all  the  persons  voted  for,  and  of  the  num- 
ber of  votes  for  each,  which  list  they  shall  sign  and  certify, 
and  transmit  sealed  to  the  seat  of  the  government  of  the  United 
States,  directed  to  the  President  of  the  Senate.    The  President 


APPENDIX  IV 


301 


dF  the  Senate  shall,  in  the  presence  of  the  Senate  and  House  of 
Representatives,  open  all  the  certificates,  and  the  votes  shall 
then  be  counted.  The  person  having  the  greatest  number  of 
votes  shall  be  the  President,  if  such  number  be  a  majority  of 
the  whole  number  of  electors  appointed,  and  if  there  be  more 
than  one  who  have  such  majority,  and  have  an  equal  number 
of  votes,  then  the  House  of  Representatives  shall  immediately 
choose  by  ballot  one  of  them  for  President ;  and  if  no  person 
have  a  majority,  then  from  the  five  highest  on  the  list  the  said 
House  shall  in  like  manner  choose  the  President.  But  in 
choosing  the  President,  the  votes  shall  be  taken  by  States,  the 
representation  from  each  State  having  one  vote  ;  a  quorum  for 
this  purpose  shall  consist  of  a  member  or  members  from  two- 
thirds  of  the  States,  and  a  majority  of  all  the  States  shall  be 
necessary  to  a  choice.  In  every  case,  after  the  choice  of  the 
President,  the  person  having  the  greatest  number  of  votes  of 
the  electors  shall  be  the  Vice-President.  But  if  there  should 
remain  two  or  more  who  have  equal  votes,  the  Senate  shall 
choose  from  them  by  ballot  the  Vice-President.]  * 

The  Congress  may  determine  the  time  of  choosing  the  elec- 
tors, and  the  day  on  which  they  shall  give  their  votes  ;  which 
day  shall  be  the  same  throughout  the  United  States. 

No  person  except  a  natural  born  citizen,  or  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States,  at  the  time  of  the  adoption  of  this  Constitu- 
tion, shall  be  eligible  to  the  office  of  President ;  neither  shall 
any  person  be  eligible  to  that  office  who  shall  not  have  attained 
to  the  age  of  thirty-five  years,  and  been  fourteen  years  a  resi- 
dent within  the  United  States. 

In  case  of  the  removal  of  the  President  from  office,  or  of  his 
death,  resignation,  or  inability  to  discharge  the  powers  and  du- 
ties of  the  said  office,  the  same  shall  devolve  on  the  Vice- 
President,  and  the  Congress  may  by  law  provide  for  the  case 
of  removal,  death,  resignation,  or  inability,  both  of  the  Presi- 
dent and  Vice-President,  declaring  what  officer  shall  then  act 
as  President,  and  such  officer  shall  act  accordingly,  until  the 
disability  be  removed,  or  a  President  shall  be  elected. 

The  President  shall,  at  stated  times,  receive  for  his  services, 
a  compensation,  which  shall  neither  be  increased  nor  dimin- 
ished during  the  period  for  which  he  shall  have  been  elected, 
and  he  shall  not  receive  within  that  period  any  other  emolu- 
ment from  the  United  States,  or  any  of  them. 

Before  he  enter  on  the  execution  of  his  office,  he  shall  take 
the  following  oath  or  affirmation  : 

**  I  do  solemnly  swear  (or  affirm)  that  I  will  faithfully  exe- 
cute the  office  of  President  of  the  United  States,  and  will  to 


*This  clause  is  Eupereeded  by  Article  XII.,  Amendments. 


302 


APPENDIX  IV 


the  Dest  of  my  ability,  preserve,  protect  and  defend  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  United  States." 

Section  3.  The  President  shall  be  Commander-in-Chief  of 
the  Army  and  Navy  of  the  United  States,  and  of  the  militia 
of  the  several  States,  when  called  into  the  actual  service  of  the 
United  States  ;  he  may  require  the  opinion,  in  writing,  of  the 
principal  officer  in  each  of  the  executive  departments,  upon  any 
subject  relating  to  the  duties  of  their  respective  offices,  and 
he  shall  have  power  to  grant  reprieves  and  pardons  for  offences 
against  the  United  States,  except  in  cases  of  impeachment. 

He  shall  have  power,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of 
the  Senate,  to  make  treaties,  provided  two-thirds  of  the  Sena- 
tors present  concur  ;  and  he  shall  nominate,  and  by  and  with 
the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate,  shall  appoint  ambassa- 
dors, other  public  ministers  and  consuls,  judges  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  and  all  other  officers  of  the  United  States,  whose  appoint- 
ments are  not  herein  otherwise  provided  for,  and  which  shall 
be  established  by  law  ;  but  the  Congress  may  by  law  vest  the 
appointment  of  such  inferior  officers,  as  they  think  proper,  in 
the  President  alone,  in  the  courts  of  law,  or  in  the  heads  of  de- 
partments. 

The  President  shall  have  power  to  fill  up  all  vacancies  that 
may  happen  during  the  recess  of  the  Senate,  by  granting  com- 
missions which  shall  expire  at  the  end  of  their  next  session. 

Section  3.  He  shall  from  time  to  time  give  to  the  Congress 
information  of  the  state  of  the  Union,  and  recommend  to 
their  consideration  such  measures  as  he  shall  judge  necessary 
and  expedient ;  he  may,  on  extraordinary  occasions,  convene 
both  Houses,  or  either  of  them,  and,  in  case  of  disagreement 
between  them,  with  respect  to  the  time  of  adjournment,  he  may 
adjourn  them  to  such  time  as  he  shall  think  proper  ;  he  shall 
receive  ambassadors  and  other  public  ministers  ;  he  shall  take 
care  that  the  laws  be  faithfully  executed,  and  shall  commis- 
sion all  the  officers  of  the  United  States. 

Section  4.  The  President,  Vice-President,  and  all  civil  offi- 
cers of  the  United  States,  shall  be  removed  from  office  on 
impeachment  for,  and  conviction  of,  treason,  bribery,  or  other 
high  crimes  and  misdemeanors. 


ARTICLE  III. 

Section  1.  The  judicial  power  of  the  United  States,  shall 
be  vested  in  one  Supreme  Court,  and  in  such  inferior  courts 
as  the  Congress  may  from  time  to  time  ordain  and  establish. 
The  judges,  both  of  the  Supreme  and  inferior  courts,  shall 
hold  their  offices  during  good  behavior,  and  shall,  at  stated 


APPENDIX  IV 


303 


times,  receive  for  their  services,  a  compensation,  which  shall 
not  be  diminished  during  their  continuance  in  ofi&ce. 

Section  3.  The  judicial  power  shall  extend  to  all  cases,  in 
law  and  equity,  arising  under  this  Constitution,  the  laws  of 
the  United  States,  and  treaties  made,  or  which  shall  be  made, 
under  their  authority ;  to  all  cases  affecting  ambassadors,  other 
public  ministers  and  consuls;  to  all  cases  of  admiralty  and 
maritime  jurisdiction;  to  controversies  to  which  the  United 
States  shall  be  a  party ;  to  controversies  between  two  or  more 
States;  between  a  State  and  citizens  of  another ^ate..;  between 
citizens  of  drfferent  States ;  between  citizens  of  the  same  State 
claiming  lands  under  grants  of  different  States,  and  between 
a  State,  or  the  cjlizea&jthereof,  and  foreign  States,  citizens  or 
subjects. 

In  all  cases  affecting  ambassadors,  other  public  ministers  and 
consuls,  and  those  in  which  a  State  shall  be  party,  the  Supreme 
Court  shall  have  original  jurisdiction.  In  all  the  other  cases 
before-mentioned,  the  Supreme  Court  shall  have  appellate  juris- 
diction, both  as  to  law  and  fact,  with  such  exceptions,  and 
under  such  regulations  as  the  Congress  shall  make. 

The  trial  of  all  crimes,  except  in  cases  of  impeachment,  shall 
be  by  jury ;  and  such  trial  shall  be  held  in  the  State  where 
the  said  crimes  shall  have  been  committed ;  but  when  not  com- 
mitted within  any  State,  the  trial  shall  be  at  such  place  or 
places  as  the  Congress  may  by  law  have  directed. 

Section  3.  Treason  against  the  United  States,  shall  con- 
sist only  in  levying  war  against  them,  or  in  adhering  to  their 
enemies,  giving  them  aid  and  comfort.  No  person  shall  be 
convicted  of  treason  unless  on  the  testimony  of  two  witnesses 
to  the  same  overt  act,  or  on  confession  in  open  court. 

The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  declare  the  punishment  of 
treason,  but  no  attainder  of  treason  shall  work  corruption  of 
blood,  or  forfeiture  except  during  the  life  of  the  person  at- 
tainted. 

ARTICLE  IV. 

Section  1.  Full  faith  and  credit  shall  be  given  in  each 
State  to  the  public  acts,  records,  and  judicial  proceedings 
of  every  other  State.  And  the  Congress  may  by  general 
laws  prescribe  the  manner  in  which  such  acts,  records  and 
proceedings  shall  be  proved,  and  the  effect  thereof. 

Section  2.  The  citizens  of  each  State  shall  be  entitled  to 
all  privileges  and  immunities  of  citizens  in  the  several  States. 

A  person  charged  in  any  State  with  treason,  felony,  or  other 
crime,  who  shall  flee  from  justice,  and  be  found  in  another 
State,  shall,  on  demand  of  the  executive  authority  of  the  State 


304 


APPENDIX  IV 


from  which  he  fled,  be  delivered  up  to  be  removed  to  the  State 
having  jurisdiction  of  the  crime. 

No  person  held  to  service  or  labor  in  one  State,  under  the 
laws  thereof,  escaping  into  another,  shall,  in  consequence  of 
any  law  or  regulation  therein,  be  discharged  from  such  service 
or  labor,  but  shall  be  delivered  up  on  claim  of  the  party  to 
whom  such  service  or  labor  may  be  due. 

Section  3.  New  States  may  be  admitted  by  the  Congress 
into  this  Union  ;  but  no  new  State  shall  be  formed  or  erected 
within  the  jurisdiction  of  any  other  State ;  nor  any  State  be 
formed  by  the  junction  of  two  or  more  States,  or  parts  of 
States,  without  the  consent  of  the  Legislatures  of  the  States 
concerned  as  well  as  of  the  Congress. 

The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  dispose  of  and  make  all 
needful  rules  and  regulations  respecting  the  territory  or  other 
property  belonging  to  the  United  States  ;  and  nothing  in  this 
Constitution  shall  be  so  construed  as  to  prejudice  any  claims 
of  the  United  States,  or  of  any  particular  State. 

Section  4.  The  United  States  shall  guarantee  to  every 
State  in  this  Union  a  republican  form  of  government,  and 
shall  protect  each  of  them  against  invasion  ;  and  on  application 
of  the  Legislature,  or  of  the  Executive  (when  the  Legislature 
cannot  be  convened)  against  domestic  violence. 

ARTICLE  V. 

The  Congress,  whenever  two-thirds  of  both  Houses  shall 
deem  it  necessary,  shall  propose  amendments  to  this  Constitu- 
tion, or,  on  the  application  of  the  Legislatures  of  two-thirds  of 
the  several  States,  shall  call  a  convention  for  proposing  amend- 
ments, which,  in  either  case,  shall  be  valid  to  all  intents  and 
purposes,  as  part  of  this  Constitution,  when  ratified  by  the 
Legislatures  of  three-fourths  of  the  several  States,  or  by  con- 
ventions in  three-fourths  thereof,  as  the  one  or  the  other  mode 
of  ratification  may  be  proposed  by  the  Congress  ;  Provided  that 
no  amendment  which  may  be  made  prior  to  the  year  one  thou- 
sand eight  hundred  and  eight  shall  in  any  manner  affect  the 
first  and  fourth  clauses  in  the  Ninth  Section  of  the  First  Arti- 
cle ;  and  that  no  State,  without  its  consent,  shall  be  deprived 
of  its  equal  suffrage  in  the  Senate. 

ARTICLE  VL 

All  debts  contracted  and  engagements  entered  into,  before 
the  adoption  of  this  Constitution,  shall  be  as  valid  against 
the  United  States  under  this  Constitution,  as  under  the  Con- 
federation. 


APPENDIX  IV 


305 


This  Constitution,  and  the  laws  of  the  United  States  which 
shall  be  made  in  pursuance  thereof  ;  and  all  treaties  made,  or 
which  shall  be  made,  under  the  authority  of  the  United  States, 
shall  be  the  supreme  law  of  the  land  ;  and  the  judges  in  every 
State  shall  be  bound  thereby,  anything  in  the  Constitution  or 
laws  of  any  State  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding. 

The  Senators  and  Representatives  before  mentioned,  and 
the  members  of  the  several  State  Legislatures,  and  all  execu- 
tive and  judicial  officers,  both  of  the  United  States  and  of  the 
several  States,  shall  be  bound  by  oath  or  affirmation,  to  support 
this  Constitution  ;  but  no  religious  test  shall  ever  be  required 
as  a  qualification  to  any  office  or  public  trust  under  the  United 
States. 

The  ratification  of  the  Conventions  of  nine  States,  shall  be 
sufficient  for  the  establishment  of  this  Constitution  between 
the  States  so  ratifying  the  same. 


/LMENDMENTS  TO  THE  CONSTITUTION 


ARTICLE  L 

Congress  shall  make  no  law  respecting  an  establishment  of 
religion,  or  prohibiting  the  free  exercise  thereof  ;  or  abridging 
the  freedom  of  speech,  or  of  the  press  ;  or  the  right  of  the 
people  peaceably  to  assemble,  and  to  petition  the  Government 
for  a  redress  of  grievances. 


ARTICLE  IL 

A  well-regulated  militia,  being  necessary  to  the  security  of 
a  free  State,  the  right  of  the  people  to  keep  and  bear  arms, 
shall  not  be  infringed. 


ARTICLE  IIL 

No  soldier  shall,  in  time  of  peace,  be  quartered  in  any  house, 
without  the  consent  of  the  owner,  nor  in  time  of  war,  but  in  a 
manner  to  be  prescribed  by  law. 


306 


APPENDIX  IV 


ARTICLE  IV. 

The  right  of  the  people  to  be  secure  in  their  persons,  houses, 
papers,  and  effects,  against  unreasonable  searches  and  seiz- 
ures, shall  not  be  violated,  and  no  warrants  shall  issue,  but 
upon  probable  cause,  supported  by  oath  or  aflarmation,  and 
particularly  describing  the  place  to  be  searched,  and  the  per- 
sons or  things  to  be  seized. 


ARTICLE  V. 

No  person  shall  be  held  to  answer  for  a  capital,  or  otherwise 
infamous  crime,  unless  on  a  presentment  or  indictment  of  a 
grand  jury,  except  in  cases  arising  in  the  land  or  naval  forces, 
or  in  the  militia,  when  in  actual  service  in  time  of  war  or 
public  danger  ;  nor  shall  any  person  be  subject  for  the  same 
offence  to  be  twice  put  in  jeopardy  of  life  or  limb  ;  nor  shall 
be  compelled  in  any  criminal  case  to  be  a  witness  against  him- 
self, nor  be  deprived  of  life,  liberty,  or  property,  without  due 
process  of  law  ;  nor  shall  private  property  be  taken  for  public 
use,  without  just  compensation. 


ARTICLE  VL 

In  all  criminal  prosecutions,  the  accused  shall  enjoy  the 
right  to  a  speedy  and  public  trial,  by  an  impartial  jury  of  the 
State  and  district  wherein  the  crime  shall  have  been  com- 
mitted, which  district  shall  have  been  previously  ascertained 
by  law,  and  to  be  informed  of  the  nature  and  cause  of  the  ac- 
cusation ;  to  be  confronted  with  the  witnesses  against  him  ;  to 
have  compulsory  process  for  obtaining  witnesses  in  his  favor, 
and  to  have  the  assistance  of  counsel  for  his  defence. 


ARTICLE  VII. 

In  suits  at  common  law,  where  the  value  in  controversy 
shall  exceed  twenty  dollars,  the  right  of  trial  by  jury  shall  be 
preserved,  and  no  fact  tried  by  a  jury  shall  be  otherwise  re- 
examined in  any  court  of  the  United  States,  than  according  to 
the  rules  of  the  common  law. 


APPENDIX  IV 


307 


ARTICLE  Vni. 

Excessive  bail  shall  not  be  required,  nor  excessive  fines  im- 
posed, nor  cruel  and  unusual  punishments  inflicted. 

ARTICLE  IX. 

The  enumeration  in  the  Constitution,  of  certain  rights,  shall 
not  be  construed  to  deny  or  disparage  others  retained  by  the 
people. 

ARTICLE  X. 

The  powers  not  delegated  to  the  United  States  by  the  Con- 
stitution, nor  prohibited  by  it  to  the  btates,  are  reserved  to 
the  States  respectively,  or  to  the  people. 


ARTICLE  XL 

The  judicial  power  of  the  United  States  shall  not  be  con- 
strued  to  extend  to  any  suit  in  law  or  equity,  commenced  or 
prosecuted  against  one  of  the  United  States  by  citizens  of 
another  State,  or  by  citizens  or  subjects  of  any  foreign  State. 


ARTICLE  XIL 

The  electors  shall  meet  in  their  respective  States,  and  vote 
by  ballot  for  President  and  Vice-President,  one  of  whom,  at 
least,  shall  not  be  an  inhabitant  of  the  same  State  with  them- 
selves ;  they  shall  name  in  their  ballots  the  person  voted  for  as 
President,  and  in  distinct  ballots  the  person  voted  for  as  Vice- 
President,  and  they  shall  make  distinct  lists  of  all  persons  voted 
for  as  President,  and  of  all  persons  voted  for  as  Vice-President, 
and  of  the  numlDer  of  votes  for  each,  which  list  they  shall  sign 
and  certify,  and  transmit  sealed  to  the  seat  of  the  government 
of  the  United  States,  directed  to  the  President  of  the  Senate ; 
The  President  of  the  Senate  shall,  in  the  presence  of  the  Sen- 
ate and  House  of  Representatives,  open  all  the  certificates  and 
the  votes  shall  then  be  counted  ;  The  person  having  the  great- 
est number  of  votes  for  President,  shall  be  the  President,  if 
such  number  be  a  majority  of  the  whole  number  of  electors 
appointed  ;  and  if  no  person  have  such  majority,  then  from 
the  persons  having  the  highest  numbers  not  exceeding  three 
on  the  list  of  those  voted  for  as  President,  the  House  of  Rep* 


308 


APPENDIX  IV 


resentatives  shall  choose  immediately,  by  ballot,  the  President. 
But  in  choosing  the  President,  the  votes  shall  be  taken  by 
States,  the  representation  from  each  State  having  one  vote  ;  a 
quorum  for  this  purpose  shall  consist  of  a  member  or  mem- 
bers from  two-thirds  of  the  States,  and  a  majority  of  all  the 
States  shall  be  necessary  to  a  choice.  And  if  the  House  of 
Eepresentatives  shall  not  choose  a  President  whenever  the 
right  of  choice  shall  devolve  upon  them,  before  the  fourth  day 
of  March  next  following,  then  the  Vice-President  shall  act  as 
President,  as  in  the  case  of  the  death  or  other  constitutional 
disability  of  the  President.  The  person  having  the  greatest 
number  of  votes  as  Vice-President  shall  be  the  Vice-President, 
if  such  number  be  a  majority  of  the  whole  number  of  electors 
appointed,  and  if  no  person  have  a  majority,  then  from  the 
two  highest  numbers  on  the  list,  the  Senate  shall  choose  the 
Vice-President ;  a  quorum  for  the  purpose  shall  consist  of 
two-thirds  of  the  whole  number  of  Senators,  and  a  majority  of 
the  whole  number  shall  be  necessary  to  a  choice.  But  no 
person  coustitutionally  ineligible  to  the  office  of  President  shall 
be  eligible  to  that  of  Vice-President  of  the  United  States. 


ARTICLE  XIII. 

Section  1.  Neither  slavery  nor  involuntary  servitude,  ex- 
cept as  a  punishment  for  crime  whereof  the  party  shall  have 
been  duly  convicted,  shall  exist  within  the  United  States,  or 
any  place  subject  to  their  jurisdiction. 

Section  2.  Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce  this 
article  by  appropriate  legislation. 


ARTICLE  XIV. 

Section  1.  All  persons  born  or  naturalized  in  the  United 
States,  and  subject  to  the  jurisdiction  thereof,  are  citizens  of 
the  United  States  and  of  the  State  wherein  they  reside.  No 
State  shall  make  or  enforce  any  law  which  shall  abridge  the 
privileges  or  immunities  of  citizens  of  the  United  States  ;  nor 
shall  any  State  deprive  any  person  of  life,  liberty,  or  property, 
without  due  process  of  law  ;  nor  deny  to  any  person  within 
its  jurisdiction  the  equal  protection  of  the  laws. 

Section  2.  Representatives  shall  be  apportioned  among 
the  several  States  according  to  their  respective  numbers,  count- 
ing the  whole  number  of  persons  in  each  State,  excluding  Ind- 
ians not  taxed.  But  when  the  right  to  vote  at  any  election 
for  the  choice  of  electors  for  President  and  Vice-President  of 


APPENDIX  IV 


309 


the  United  8tates,  Representatives  in  Congress,  the  executive 
and  judicial  officers  of  a  State,  or  the  members  of  the  Legis- 
lature thereof,  is  denied  to  any  of  the  male  inhabitants  of  such 
State,  being  twenty-one  years  of  age,  and  citizens  of  the 
United  States,  or  in  any  way  abridged,  except  for  participation 
in  rebellion,  or  other  crime,  tlie  basis  of  representation  therein 
shall  be  reduced  in  the  proportion  which  the  number  of  such 
male  citizens  shall  bear  to  the  whole  number  of  male  citizens 
twenty-one  years  of  age  in  such  State. 

Section  8.  No  person  shall  be  a  Senator  or  Representative 
in  Congress,  or  elector  of  President  and  Vice-President,  or 
holding  any  office,  civil  or  military,  under  the  United  States, 
or  under  any  State,  who,  having  previously  taken  an  oath,  as 
a  member  of  Congress,  or  as  an  officer  of  the  United  States,  or 
as  a  member  of  any  State  Legislature,  or  as  an  executive  or 
judicial  officer  of  any  State,  to  support  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States,  shall  have  engaged  in  insurrection  or  rebellion 
against  the  same,  or  given  aid  or  comfort  to  the  enemies  there- 
of. But  Congress  may  by  a  vote  of  two-thirds  of  each  House, 
remove  such  disability. 

Section  4.  The  validity  of  the  public  debt  of  the  United 
States,  authorized  by  law,  including  debts  incurred  for  pay- 
ment of  pensions  and  bounties  for  services  in  suppressing  in- 
surrection or  rebellion,  shall  not  be  questioned.  But  neither 
the  United  States  nor  any  State  shall  assume  or  pay  any  debt 
or  obligation  incurred  in  aid  of  insurrection  or  rebellion 
against  the  United  States,  or  any  claim  for  the  loss  or  emanci- 
pation of  any  slave  ;  but  all  such  debts,  obligations  and  claims 
shall  be  held  illegal  and  void. 

Section  5.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce,  by 
appropriate  legislation,  the  provisions  of  this  article. 


ARTICLE  XV. 

Section  1.  The  right  of  citizens  of  the  United  States  to 
vote  shall  not  be  denied  or  abridged  by  the  United  States  or 
by  any  State  on  account  of  race,  color,  or  previous  condition 
of  servitude. 

Section  2.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce  this 
article  by  appropriate  legislation. 


310 


APPENDIX  IV 


BATIFICATION  OF  THE  CONSTITUTION. 

The  Constitution  was  ratified  by  the  thirteen  original  States  in 
the  following  order : 
Delaware,  December  7,  1787,  unanimously. 
Pennsylvania,  December  13,  1787,  vote  46  to  23. 
New  Jersey,  December  18,  1787,  unanimously. 
Georgia,  January  2,  1788,  unanimously. 
Connecticut,  January  9,  1788,  vote  128  to  40. 
Massachusetts,  February  6,  1788,  vote  187  to  168. 
Maryland,  April  28,  1788,  vote  63  to  12. 
South  Carolina,  May  23,  1788,  vote  149  to  73. 
New  Hampshire,  June  21,  1788,  vote  57  to  46, 
Virginia,  June  25,  1788,  vote  89  to  79. 
New  York,  July  26,  1788,  vote  30  to  28. 
North  Carolina,  November  21,  1789,  vote  193  to  75^ 
Rhode  Island,  May  29,  1790,  vote  34  to  32. 


RATIFICATION  OF  THE  AMENDMENTS. 

I.  to  X.  inclusive  were  declared  in  force  December  15,  1791. 
XL  was  declared  in  force  January  8,  1798. 

XII.  ,  regulating  elections,  was  ratified  by  all  States  except  Con- 
necticut, Delaware,  Massachusetts,  and  New  Hampshire,  which 
rejected  it.    It  was  declared  in  force  September  28,  1804. 

XIII.  ,  the  emancipation  amendment,  was  ratified  by  31  of  the 
36  States  ;  rejected  by  Delaware  and  Kentucky,  not  acted  on  by 
Texas  ;  conditionally  ratified  by  Alabama  and  Mississippi.  Pro- 
claimed December  18,  1865. 

XIV.  ,  reconstruction  amendment,  was  ratified  by  23  Northern 
States  ;  rejected  by  Delaware,  Kentucky,  Maryland,  and  10  South- 
ern States,  and  not  acted  on  by  California.  The  10  Southern 
States  subsequently  ratified  under  pressure.  Proclaimed  Jul}^  28, 
1868. 

XV.  ,  negro  citizenship  amendment,  was  not  acted  upon  by 
Tennessee ;  rejected  by  California,  Delaware,  Kentucky,  Mary- 
land, New  Jersey,  and  Oregon  ;  ratified  by  the  remaining  30 
States.  New  York  rescinded  its  ratification  January  5,  1870. 
Proclaimed  March  30,  1870. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


For  an  exhanstive  bibliography  of  the  period  covered 
by  this  volume,  see  Vol.  VII.  of  Justin  Winsor's  Narra- 
tive and  Critical  History  of  America. 

GENERAL  HISTORICAL  ACCOUNTS,  1783-1817. 

George  Bancroft :  History  of  the  United  States.  (Vol.  VL  of 
the  author's  last  revision,  1783-89.) 

George  T.  Curtis  :  Constitutional  History  of  the  United  States, 
Vol.  I.  (1783-89).  (Originally  published  in  2  vols.,  and  en- 
titled A  History  of  the  Constitution.) 

John  Fiske  :  Critical  Period  of  American  History  (1783-89). 

James  Schouler  :  History  of  the  United  States,  Vols.  L  and  IL 
(1783-1817). 

John  B.  McMaster  :  History  of  the  People  of  the  United  States, 

Vols.  I.-IIL  (1784-1812). 
Richard  Hildreth  :  History  of  the  United  States,  Vols.  III.-VL 

(1773-1821). 

George  Tucker  :  History  of  the  United  States,  Vols.  I.-IIL 
Timothy  Pitkin  :  Political  and  Civil  History  of  the  United  States 

(1763-1797),  2  volumes. 
George  Gibbs  :  Administrations  of  Washington  and  John  Adams, 

2  volumes. 

Tench  Coxe  :  A  View  of  the  United  States  of  America  (1787^ 
1794). 

Adam  Seybert  :  Statistical  Annals  (1789-1818). 
A.  Bradford  :  History  of  the  Federal  Government  (1789-1839). 
H.  von  Hoist :  History  of  the  United  States,  Vol.  L  (1750-1832). 
Henry  Adams  :  History  of  the  United  States  (1801-1817),  9  vol- 
umes 

Histories  of  the  War  of  1812  by  C.  J.  Ingersoll,  4  volumes  ;  B.  J, 

Lossing  ;  Theodore  Roosevelt  (naval). 
Edward  Stanwood  •.  History  of  Presidential  Elections, 


312 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


The  articles  on  American  History  in  Lalor's  Cyclopaedia  of  Polit- 
ical Science,  etc.  (3  volumes),  especially  those  by  Alexander 
Johnston  ;  most  of  them  are  accompanied  by  bibliographical 
references. 

WORKS  OF  A  LEGAL  AND  CONSTITUTIONAL  CHAR- 
ACTER. 

John  Fiske :  Civil  Government  in  the  United  States  (elementary). 

T.  M.  Cooley :  Principles  of  Constitutional  Law. 

Joseph  Story  :  Commentaries  on  the  Constitution  of  the  United 

States,  2  volumes. 
J.  I.  C.  Hare :  American  Constitutional  Law,  2  volumes. 
H.  von  Hoist :  Constitutional  Law  of  the  United  States. 
J.  C.  Hurd  :  Theory  of  our  National  Existence. 

B.  J.  Sage  :  The  Republic  of  Republics. 

J.  A.  Jameson  :  Treatise  on  Constitutional  Conventions. 
J.  F.  Jameson  (editor) :  Essays  on  the  Constitutional  History  of 
the  United  States  (1775-1789). 

C.  E.  Stevens  :  Sources  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States. 
P.  L.  Ford  (editor)  :  Pamphlets  on  the  Constitution  of  the  United 

States  (1787-1788). 
P.  L.  Ford  (editor)  :  Essays  on  the  Constitution  of  the  United 

States  (1787-1788). 
And  particularly  The  Federalist  (Editions  by  Dawson,  Lodge, 

and  others). 

S.  F.  Miller  :  Lectures  on  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States. 

H.  L.  Carson :  History  of  the  Celebration  of  the  100th  Anniver- 
sary of  the  Promulgation  of  the  Constitution,  2  volumes. 

H.  L.  Carson :  The  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  2  vol- 
umes. 

Francis  Wharton  :  State  Trials  of  the  United  States  during  the 
Administration  of  Washington  and  John  Adams. 

Constitutional  History  of  the  United  States  as  Seen  in  the  Devel- 
opment of  American  Law.  Lectures  by  T.  M.  Cooley,  H. 
Hitchcock,  and  others. 

WORKS. 

George  Washington,  edited  by  Jared  Sparks,  12  volumes ;  by  W. 

C.  Ford,  14  volumes. 
Benjamin  Franklin,  edited  by  Jared  Sparks,  10  volumes  ;  by  John 

Bigelow,  10  volumes. 


BIBLIOGEAPHY 


313 


Alexander  Hamilton,  edited  by  J.  C.  Hamilton,  7  volumes ;  by 
H.  C.  Lodge,  9  volumes. 

Thomas  Jefferson,  edited  by  H.  A.  Washington,  9  volumes ;  by 
P.  L.  Ford,  10  volumes  (now  in  course  of  publication). 

John  Adams,  edited  by  C.  F.  Adams,  10  volumes. 

John  Jay,  edited  by  H.  P.  Johnston,  4  volumes. 

Albert  Gallatin,  edited  by  Henry  Adams,  3  volumes. 

Diary  and  Letters  of  Gouverneur  Morris,  edited  by  Anne  C.  Mor- 
ris, 2  volumes. 

Memoirs  of  J.  Q.  Adams,  edited  by  C.  F.  Adams,  Volumes  L-IIL 

(13  volumes  in  all). 
Papers  of  James  Madison,  3  volumes. 
Letters  and  other  Writings  of  James  Madison,  4  volumes. 
Writings  of  John  Marshall  (some  of  his  most  important  opinions 

as  Chief  Justice). 
Fisher  Ames,  edited  by  Seth  Ames,  2  volumes. 

BIOGRAPHIES. 

George  Washington,  by  John  Marshall,  5  volumes ;  Washington 
Irving,  5  volumes  ;  Jared  Sparks  ;  H.  C.  Lodge,  2  volumes. 

Alexander  Hamilton,  by  J.  C.  Hamilton,  2  volumes  ;  J.  T.  Morse, 
2  volumes  ;  H.  C.  Lodge  ;  W.  G.  Sumner. 

John  Adams,  by  J.  Q.  and  C.  F.  Adams,  2  volumes ;  John  T. 
Morse. 

Thomas  Jefferson,  by  H.  S.  Randall,  3  volumes  ;  George  Tucker, 
2  volumes  ;  James  Parton  ;  John  T.  Morse ;  James  Schouler ; 
Sarah  N.  Randolph. 

James  Madison,  by  W.  C.  Rives,  3  volumes  ;  S.  H.  Gay. 

Samuel  Adams,  by  W.  V.  Wells,  3  volumes  ;  J.  K.  Hosmer. 

Patrick  Henry,  by  W.  W.  Henry,  3  volumes  (including  corre- 
spondence and  speeches)  ;  M.  C.  Tyler. 

Gouverneur  Morris,  by  Jared  Sparks,  3  volumes  (with  selections 
from  his  writings)  ;  Theodore  Roosevelt. 

Benjamin  Franklin,  by  Jared  Sparks  ;  James  Parton,  2  volumes  ; 
J.  T.  Morse  ;  J.  B.  McMaster. 

John  Jay,  by  William  Jay,  2  volumes  ;  George  Pellew  ;  W. 
Whitelock. 

Robert  Morris,  by  W.  G.  Sumner,  2  volumes  (Financier  and 

Finances  of  the  American  Revolution). 
Timothy  Pickering,  by  O.  Pickering  and  0.  W.  Upham»  4 

volumes. 


314 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


William  Pinkney,  by  William  Pinkney. 
John  Marshall,  by  A.  B.  Magruder. 

Aaron  Burr,  by  M.  L.  Davis,  2  volumes  ;  James  Parton ;  Trial  ol 

Aaron  Burr,  by  D.  Robertson,  2  volumes. 
Elbridge  Gerry,  by  J.  T.  Austin,  2  volumes. 
Albert  Gallatin,  by  Henry  Adams  ;  J.  A.  Stevens. 
James  Monroe,  by  D.  C.  Gilman. 

John  Randolph,  by  H.  A.  Garland,  2  volumes ;  Henry  Adams. 
George  Cabot,  by  H.  C.  Lodge. 
Josiah  Quincy,  by  Edmund  Quincy. 

Lives  of  the  Chief-Justices  of  the  United  States,  by  George  Van 
Santvoord  ;  Henry  Flanders,  2  series. 

FOREIGN  RELATIONS. 

Treaties  and  Conventions  concluded  between  the  United  States 

and  other  Powers  since  July  4,  1776. 
Freeman  Snow  :  Treaties  and  Topics  in  American  Diplomacy. 
W.  H.  Trescot :  Diplomatic  History  of  the  Administrations  of 

Washington  and  Adams. 
Theodore  Lyman  :  The  Diplomacy  of  the  United  States  (1778- 

1828),  2  volumes. 
Francis  Wharton :  Digest  of  the  International  Law  of  the  United 

States,  3  volumes. 

WORKS  IN  ECONOMIC  HISTORY. 

F.  W.  Taussig  :  Tariff  History  of  the  United  States. 
W.  G.  Sumner :  American  Currency. 

J.  L.  Bishop  :  History  of  American  Manufactures,  2  volumes. 
A.  S.  BoUes  :  Financial  History  of  the  United  States,  1774-1789  ; 

Financial  History  of  the  United  States,  1789-1860. 
H.  C.  Adams  :  Taxation  in  the  United  States,  1789-1816. 

HISTORIES  OF  STATES. 

New  Hampshire,  by  Jeremy  Belknap,  Volumes  II.  and  III.  ;  J. 
N.  McClintock. 

Vermont,  by  R.  E.  Robinson. 

Massachusetts,  by  J.  S.  Barry,  Volume  HI. 

Rhode  Island,  by  S.  G.  Arnold,  Volume  II. 

Connecticut,  by  G.  H.  Hollister,  Volume  II.  ;  Alexander  John- 
ston, 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


315 


New  York,  by  E.  H.  Roberts,  2  volumes. 
Pennsylvania,  by  W.  M.  Cornell. 

Maryland,  by  J.  T.  Scharf ,  Volumes  II.  and  III.  ;  W.  H.  Browne. 

Virginia,  by  R.  R.  Howison,  Volume  II.  ;  J.  E.  Cooke. 

North  Carolina,  by  J.  W.  Moore,  Volume  I. 

South  Carolina,  by  David  Ramsay,  Volume  II.  ;  W.  G.  Simms. 

Georgia,  by  C.  C.  Jones,  2  volumes. 

Alabama,  by  W.  Brewer. 

Kentucky,  by  N.  S.  Shaler. 

Ohio,  by  Rufus  King. 

Indiana,  by  J.  P.  Dunn,  Jr. 

Michigan,  by  T.  M.  Cooley. 

The  Old  Northwest,  by  B.  A.  Hinsdale. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

Martin  Van  Buren  :  Political  Parties  in  the  United  States. 
R.  McK.  Ormsby  :  History  of  the  Whig  Party. 
J.  D.  Hammond :  History  of  Political  Parties  in  New  York,  2 
volumes. 

E.  D.  Warfield  :  The  Kentucky  Resolutions  of  1798. 
Henry  Adams  :  Documents  Relating  to  New  England  Federalism 
(1800-1815). 

Theodore  Dwight :  History  of  the  Hartford  Convention. 
Journal  of  William  Maclay  (1789-1791),  edited  by  E.  S.  Maclay. 
William  Maclay  :  Sketches  of  Debate  (1789-1791),  edited  by  G. 
W.  Harris. 

William  Sullivan  :  Familiar  Letters  on  Public  Characters  and 

Public  Events  (1783-1815). 
R.  W.  Griswold  :  The  Republican  Court,  or  American  Society  in 

the  Days  of  Washington. 
S.  G.  Goodrich  :  Recollections,  2  volumes. 

Timothy  Dwight :  Travels  in  New  England  and  New  York,  4 
volumes. 

E.  S.  Maclay  :  History  of  the  United  States  Navy,  2  volumes. 
Francis  A.  Walker  :  The  Indian  Question. 
The  American  Register  (1806-1809),  7  volumes. 
Niles^s  Weekly  Register,  Volumes  I.-XIL  (1811-1817). 

A  large  number  of  valuable  historical  monographs  and  papers 
may  be  found  in  the  seventh  volume  of  Justin  Winsor's  Narrative 
and  Critical  History  of  America,  in  the  publications  of  the  Amer- 


316 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


ican  Historical  Association,  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society, 
the  New  York  Historical  Society,  the  Johns  Hopkins  University, 
Columbia  College,  the  Magazine  of  American  History,  the 
Magazine  of  Western  History,  and  various  other  historical  and 
economic  publications. 

The  following  will  appeal  to  the  teacher  or  special  student  of 
history,  rather  than  to  the  general  reader  : 

Jonathan  Elliot  (editor) :  Debates,  etc. ,  5  volumes. 
Journals  of  Congress  (1774-1788),  13  volumes. 
Secret  Journals  of  Congress  (1775-1788),  4  volumes. 
Annals  of  Congress,  Volumes  I.-XXX.  (1789-1817). 
T.  H.  Benton  :  Abridgment  of  Debates.    Volumes  I.-V.  (1789- 
1817). 

Journal  of  the  House  of  Representatives  (1789-1815),  9  volumes. 
Legislative  Journal  of  the  Senate  (1789-1815),  5  volumes. 
Executive  Journal  of  the  Senate  (1789-1829),  3  volumes. 
Statutes  at  Large.    Volumes  I. -III. 

T.  B.  Waite  :  State  Papers  and  Public  Documents  of  the  United 

States  (1789-1818),  12  volumes. 
Edwin  Williams  (editor)  :  The  Statesman's  Manual.    Volume  I. 
United  States  Supreme  Court  Reports,  by  Dallas,  Volumes  II.- 

IV.,  and  by  Cranch,  9  volumes  (to  1815) ;  or,  edition  by 

Curtis,  Volumes  I.-III. 

American  State  Papers : 

Foreign  Relations  (1789-1828),  6  volumes. 

Indian  Affairs  (1789-1827),  2  volumes. 

Finances  (1789-1828),  5  volumes. 

Commerce  and  Navigation  (1789-1823),  2  volumes. 

Military  Affairs  (1789-1838),  7  volumes. 

Naval  Affairs  (1789-1836),  4  volumes. 

Post  Office  (1789-1833),  1  volume. 

Public  Lands  (1789-1837),  8  volumes. 

Claims  (1789-1823),  1  volume. 

Miscellaneous  (1789-1823),  2  volumes. 


IKDEX 


Adams,  Charles  Francis,  quoted, 
135. 

Adams,  John,  commissioner  to  ne- 
gotiate treaties  of  commerce, 
1784-5,  13 ;  vice-president  with 
Washington,  62 ;  relations  to  his 
cabinet,  90 ;  a  leader  of  the  fede- 
ralists, 95-6  ;  renominated  as  vice- 
president,  113 ;  quoted,  131  ;  rela- 
tions to  Jefferson,  132;  elected 
president,  134-5 ;  his  administra- 
tion. Chapter  VIII.  ;  retains 
Washington's  secretaries,  137  ;  his 
conduct  of  the  negotiations  with 
France,  138-44 ;  his  relation  to 
Alien  and  Sedition  laws,  149,  151, 
166-7 ;  his  cabinet  officers  intrigue 
against  him,  157-62  ;  defeated  for 
re-election,  163-4  ;  causes  of  that 
defeat,  165-6 ;  the  midnight 
appointments,"  169-70  ;  resents 
search  of  a  national  vessel,  193 ; 
the  vice-president  the  natural  suc- 
cessor to  the  presidency,  211. 

Adams,  John  Quincy,  appointed 
minister  to  Prussia,  143-4 ;  sup- 
ports embargo,  201  ;  commis- 
sioner at  Treaty  of  Ghent,  247. 

Adams,  Samuel,  opposes  constitu- 
tion of  1787,  57. 

Addison,  Judge,  impeachment  of, 
172. 

Agriculture,  predominant  occupa- 
tion in  the  United  States  in  1790, 
66 ;  reasons  for  remarkable  pro- 
ductive power,  66-72. 

Alabama  Territory,  257. 

Algiers.    See  Barbary  States. 

Alien  Laws,  the,  149 ;  republican 
opposition  to,  151-5,  166-7. 

Amendments  to  the  constitution, 
how  made,  48-9 ;  the  first  ten, 
74-7,  256-7  ;  the  eleventh,  127-8 ; 
the  twelfth,  168-9. 

American  life  in  1790,  65-67,  102-3. 


American  nationality,  sentiment  of. 
See  Nationality,  American. 

Annapolis,  commercial  convention 
at,  19-20. 

Armies,  right  to  maintain,  confined 
to  general  government,  43,  45  ; 
democratic-republican  party  ad- 
vocate employment  of  a  militia, 
instead  of  regulars,  in  the  Indian 
wars,  106. 

Armstrong,  General,  United  States 
minister  at  Paris,  218-20,  225. 

Army,  U.  S.  (see  Regulars),  com- 
parative inefficiency  at  beginning 
of  War  of  1812,  232-3. 

Assumption  of  State  debts,  80-1. 

Attorney-General,  office  of,  89. 

Back  -  pat  scandals  (Congress), 
256-7. 

Bainbridge,  Captain,  in  the  Medi- 
terranean, 186-7 ;  in  War  of  1812, 
231. 

Baltimore,  population  in  1790,  64 ; 
Hanson  riot,  227-9  ;  British  at- 
tack upon,  238. 

Bank  of  the  Revolution,  82. 

Bank,  First  National,  of  the  U.  S., 
82-4 ;  constitutionality,  82-3  ;  the 
second  re-charter  defeated  in  1811, 
253-4,  273;  Second  Bank  char- 
tered 1816,  261-2. 

Bankruptcy  laws,  authority  to  en* 
act,  43 ;  first  bankruptcy  law  un- 
der Adams,  156 ;  repealed  under 
Jefferson,  177  ;  opposition  of  dem- 
ocratic-republican party  to  such 
legislation,  177. 

Baptists  settle  in  Rhode  Island,  5. 

Barbary  States,  controversies  with, 
123,  186-7,  248-9. 

Barlow,  Mr.,  United  States  minis- 
ter to  France,  222. 

Barron,  Commodore,  in  the  Medi- 
terranean, 187  ;  in  command  of 


318 


INDEX 


the  Chesapeake,  when  that  frig- 
ate was  defeated  by  the  Leop- 
ard, 193. 

Bayard,  James  A.,  charges  a  cor- 
rupt bargain  upon  Mr.  Jefferson, 
170. 

Bayonne  decree,  197. 
Berlin  decree,  195-6,  200,  217-21, 
225. 

Blair,  John,  associate  justice  Su- 
preme Court,  98. 

Blockade,  194-6,  219,  225. 

Blue  Light  Federalists,  so-called, 
243  n. 

Bonaparte,  his  cession  of  Louisiana, 
179-80 ;    San    Domingo  revolt, 

-  185-6 ;  his  decrees  against  neu- 
tral trade,  195-6,  200,  218 ;  his 
power  in  1812,  284;  his  fall  en 
ables  England  to  send  troops  to 
America,  236 ;  destruction  of  his 
continental  system,  256. 

Borgue,  Lake,  on  boundary  of  Flor- 
ida, as  claimed  by  the  Spaniards, 
185. 

Boston,  population  in  1790,  64. 

Boundary,  dispute  as  to,  185-6. 

Bowdoin,  Governor  James,  advo- 
cates a  closer  union,  18 ;  puts 
down  Shays's  Rebellion,  19. 

Bradford,  William,  130. 

Breckinridge,  John,  in  Jefferson's 
cabinet,  211. 

Brock,  General,  commanding  Brit- 
ish forces  in  Canada,  235. 

Brown,  General  Jacob,  commands 
United  States  forces  in  Canada, 
236-7. 

Burr,  Aaron,  his  control  of  New 
York  politics,  162 ;  his  intrigue 
to  secure  the  presidency  over 
Jefferson,  164-5 ;  becomes  vice- 
president,  165;  presides  at  im- 
peachment of  Judge  Chase,  172, 
n.;  goes  over  to  the  federalists, 
188;  kills  Hamilton,  189;  ar- 
rested and  tried  for  treason,  206 ; 
his  plans,  207-8. 

Cabinet,  not  recognized  in  consti- 
tution, 89  ;  development  of  this 
function  under  first  three  presi- 
dents, 90-1  ;  should  cabinet  offi- 
cers sit  in  Congress?  91-3; 
Washington's  caljinet,  93  -  6 ; 
breaks  up,    128-31 ;  decline  in  I 


dignity  of  a  cabinet  position,  131; 

Adams's  cabinet,  137, 141, 157-62; 

ethics  of  cabinet  office,  158-9; 

Jefferson's  cabinet,  187-8,  210-11 ; 

Madison's,  214-5,  263. 
Cabot,  George,   president  of  the 

Hartford  Convention,  244. 
Cadore,   due  de,  French  minister, 

218-19. 

Calhoun,  J.  C,  advocates  war  with 
England,  222  ;  advocates  tariff  of 
1816,  261 ;  attitude  toward  Second 
National  Bank,  262 ;  advocates  in- 
ternal improvements,  262. 

Campbell,  George  W.,  secretary  of 
the  treasury,  256. 

Canada,  conquest  of,  declared  to  be 
the  real  motive  for  the  War  of 
1812,  225,  227,  230,  232,  242 ;  in- 
vasion of,  234-7. 

Canning,  George,  English  minister, 
201. 

Catholics  settle  in  Maryland,  5 ;  not 
allowed  to  vote  in  some  colonies, 
50. 

Caucus  of  members  of  Congress  to 
nominate  candidates  for  president 
and  vice-president,  132-3,  224, 
264. 

Census  of  the  United  States,  the 
first,  108 ;  the  second,  156,  174 ; 
the  third,  233. 

Centre  of  population,  so-called, 
265-6. 

Ceremonial  at  the  Executive  Man- 
sion, 99. 

Cham  plain.  Lake,  battle  of,  237. 
Charleston,  population  of,  in  1790, 

64  ;  federalist  in  sentiment,  96. 
Chase,    Judge,   impeachment  of, 

172. 

Chesapeake,  United  States  frigate, 
attacked  by  H.  M.  S.  Leopard, 
193,  198-9. 

Chief  J ustice  of  the  United  States, 
the  office,  43 ;  Jay  appointed 
97-8 ;  Rutledge's  confirmation  re- 
fused, 127 ;  Ellsworth  appoint' 
ed,  126-7 ;  Marshall  appointed, 
167. 

Chippewa,  battle  of,  237. 
Chisholm  vs.  the  State  of  Georgia, 
30,  127. 

Cincinnati,  the  Society  of,  125. 
Civil  service,  the,  under  Mr.  Jeffer* 
son,  169-71,  175. 


INDEX 


319 


Clarke  and  Lewis,  expedition,  210. 

Clay,  Henry,  advocates  war  with 
England,  222;  commissioner  at 
Treaty  of  Ghent,  247  ;  his  cham- 
pionship of  protection,  261  ;  ad- 
vocates Second  National  Bank, 
262. 

Clinton,  George,  opposes  constitu- 
tion, 60 ;  nominated  by  democrat- 
ic-republicans as  vice-president, 
113  ;  elected  vice-president,  188- 
9 ;  his  claim  upon  the  republican 
nomination  in  1808,  212;  is  re- 
elected vice-president,  213 ;  de- 
feats re-charter  of  Bank,  254. 

Clinton  De  Witt,  candidate  for  pres- 
idency, 250-1. 

Cobbett,  Wm.,  his  political  vitu- 
peration, 148. 

Cochrane,  British  admiral,  238. 

Cockburn,  British  admiral,  238. 

Coinage,  Congress  given  sole  power 
over,  43,  44 ;  first  coinage  law,  81- 
2 ;  proposition  to  abolish  mint, 
176. 

Collingwood,  Admiral,  searches  an 
American  man-of-war,  193. 

Collot,  editor,  148. 

Colonialism  in  American  politics, 
102-3. 

Columbia,  District  of,  107. 

Commerce,  lack  of  power  in  Con- 
federation to  regulate,  12-13 ; 
Congress  has  power  to  regulate, 
43. 

Commercial  opposed  to  planting 
States  in  constitutional  conven- 
tion, 35,  36,  53  ;  commercial 
States  oppose  embargo,  201-2, 
240-3. 

Compromises  of  the  constitution, 
32-5. 

Confederation,  the,  of  1781-9 ;  its 
weakness  and  the  causes  of  its 
failure.  Chapter  I.  ;  the  Confed- 
eration abandoned  by  the  consti- 
tutional convention,  37-8. 

Congress,  Continental,  9. 

Congress  of  the  Confederation,  8-14, 
39-40. 

Congress  under  the  constitution, 
34  ;  organization,  41-3  ;  powers, 
43-5,  48 ;  should  cabinet  officers 
sit  in  ?  91-3  ;  representation  of 
States  in,  after  first  census,  108  ; 
after  second  census,  174;  after 


third  census,  252 ;  Back-pay 
scandals,  256-7  ;  supposed  case  of 
an  infraction  of  the  constitution 
by  Congress,  151-5. 
Connecticut,  its  dispute  with  Mas- 
sachusetts (1647-50),  2;  with 
New  York,  2-3  ;  in  constitution- 
al convention,  3-6 ;  her  western 
lands,  39,  n.  ;  ratifies  constitu- 
tion, 52;  presidential  election  of 
1800,  164  ;  representation  in  Con- 
gress after  second  census,  174; 
election  of  1804,  188  ;  last  strong 
hold  of  federalism,  217 ;  oppo- 
sition to  War  of  1812,  242-4; 
represented  in  Hartford  conven- 
tion, 244;  election  of  1812,  251; 
representation  after  third  census, 
252. 

Constitution,  the,  framed.  Chapter 
II.  ;  ratified,  Chapter  III. ;  sup- 
posed case  of  an  infraction  of,  by 
Congress,  with  concurrence  of  the 
judiciary,  151-5  ;  influence  of  the 
Supreme  Court  upon  the  practi- 
cal development  of  the  constitu- 
tion, 97,  167,  173,  270.  See 
Amendments. 

Contraband  of  war,  192. 

Convention,  Commercial,  at  Annap- 
olis in  1786,  19-20,  26. 

Convention,  Constitutional,  Phila- 
delphia, 1787,  20,  Chapter  II.; 
dodged  the  question  of  national- 
ity, 268. 

Cooper,  J.  Fenimore,  mutual  prej- 
udices of  New  York  and  New 
England,  4,  n. 

Cotton,  small  export  of,  in  1790, 
64  ;  increasing  importance  of  this 
crop  stimulates  demand  for  slave 
labor,  184,  210;  influence  on  the 
tariff  of  1816,  260-1. 

Courts  of  the  United  States  (see 
Supreme  Court— Circuit  Court), 
169,  171-2. 

Craig,  Sir  James,  Governor-General 
of  Canada,  223,  242-3. 

Crawford,  William  H.,  enters  Madi- 
son's cabinet,  263 ;  urged  for  pres- 
idency, 263. 

Creek  Indians,  107,  238-9. 

Crowninshield,  Jacob,  in  Jefferson's 
cabinet,  211  ;  threats  against 
Canada,  234,  n. 

Cumberland  road,  204. 


INDEX 


Curtis,  George  Ticknor,  History 
of  the  Constitution,"  30,  91,  267. 

Cushing,  William,  associate  jus- 
tice of  the  Supreme  Court,  98; 
declines  chief  justiceship,  127. 

Customs  duties.  Congress  author- 
ized to  levy,  43 ;  first  tariff,  84-5  ; 
war  tariff,  255  ;  tariff  of  1816,  258- 
61. 

Cutler,  Dr.  Manasseh,  ordinance 
of  1787,  40. 

Dale,  Commodore,  sent  to  Medi- 
terranean, 186. 

Dallas,  A.  J,,  secretary  of  the 
treasury,  256,  261. 

Dane,  Nathan,  ordinance  of  1787,  40. 

Davie,  Wm.  R.,  envoy  to  France, 
142. 

Dearborn,  Henry,  in  Jefferson's 
cabinet,  187 ;  invasion  of  Canada, 
236. 

Debts,  Congress  authorized  to  levy 
taxes  to  pay  the  debts  of  the 
United  States,  43,  48-9 ;  funding 
of  Revolutionary  debt,  78-80 ;  re- 
duction of  debt  under  Jefferson, 
208 ;  increase  of  debt  during  War 
of  1812 ;  interest  defaulted,  255-6. 

Debts  of  the  Revolution,  10-11,  78- 
80,  208. 

Debts  (private),  ante -revolutionary, 
due  to  British  subjects,  12,  144. 

Debts,  public,  natural  indisposition 
toward  payment  of,  10-11. 

Decatur,  Commodore,  187,  231,  248. 

Delaware,  its  colonial  relations  to 
Pennsylvania,  3 ;  settled  lar^^ely 
by  non-English  people,  4 ;  repre- 
sented at  Annapolis  convention, 
19  ;  ratifies  constitution,  52 ;  the 
smallest  State  in  1790,  108;  its 
General  Assembly  repudiates  the 
nullification  resolutions,  152-3 ; 
the  presidential  election  of  1800, 
164,  170 ;  representation  in  Con- 
gress after  second  census,  174  ; 
election  of  1804,  188;  election  of 
1813,  251  ;  representation  in  Con- 
gress after  third  census,  251. 

Democratic-republican  party.  See 
Republican  party. 

Democratic  societies,  117,  125-6. 

Deposit,  right  of,  at  New  Orleans, 
141,  178. 

Detroit,  234. 


Dexter,  Samuel,  enters  Adams's 
cabinet,  161,  187. 

Dickinson,  John,  in  constitutional 
convention,  27. 

Direct  tax.  Congress  forbidden  to 
levy,  except  in  proportion  to  pop- 
ulation, 44  ;  the  direct  tax  in 
Adams's  administration,  145  ;  in- 
efficiency of  this  tax  in  the 
revenue  system  of  the  United 
States,  145-6 ;  direct  tax  under 
Madison,  255,  273. 

Directory  of  France,  its  treatment 
of  our  envoys,  138-9. 

Drummond,  General,  British  com- 
mander, 237. 

Duane,  editor,  148. 

Duplaine,  M.,  French  consul  at 
Boston,  rescues  vessel  from 
United  States  marshal,  117. 

Dutch  settle  in  New  York  and 
Pennsylvania,  4. 

D  wight,  Theodore,  secretary  of 
Hartford  convention,  245. 

Economic  interests  became  pre- 
dominant after  the  War  of  1812, 
257-8. 

Electors,  presidential,  45, 133, 163-5, 
168-9. 

Ellsworth,  Oliver,  in  constitutional 
convention,  25 ;  appointed  chief 
justice,  127 ;  envoy  to  France, 
142  ;  resigns  chief  justiceship,  167. 

Embargo  in  Washington's  second 
term,  119 ;  in  Jefferson's  term, 
200-3,  240-1 ;  as  a  preliminary  to 
declaration  of  war,  1812,  224 ; 
proposal  of  Hartford  convention 
re,iiarding  embargoes,  245 ;  em- 
bf^rgo  of  1813-14,  255-6. 

England  holds  our  western  posts, 
12 ;  violations  of  neutral  trade, 
119;  the  Jay  treaty,  120-1;  tem- 
porary occupation  of  Florida,  178 ; 
abortive  treaty  with  England 
regarding  boundary  between 
Canada  and  the  United  States, 
186  ;  increasing  hostility  to  Eng- 
land, 188;  the  war  with  France 
incites  England  to  outrages  upon 
neutral  rights,  190-1 ;  dispute  as 
to  repeal  of  the  French  decrees, 
217-21  ;  war  against  England 
declared,  224  -  7  ;  comparative 
strength  of  the  belligerents,  333-4; 


321 


War  of  18ia-15,  Chapter  XII.  ; 
peace  declared,  239;  terms  of 
treaty  of  peace,  247-9. 

Erie,  Fort,  287. 

Erie,  Lake,  battle  of,  235. 

Erskine,  Mr.,  British  minister  at 
Washington,  217-18,  226. 

Eustis,  William,  in  Madison's  cabi- 
net, 214. 

Excise  duties,  Congress  authorized 
to  levy,  43 ;  excise  laws,  85-6, 
123-5 ;  repeal  of  excise  under 
Jefferson,  175;  excise  duties  un- 
der Madison,  255,  273. 

Executive  departments  in  the  con- 
stitution, 88-9.    See  Cabinet. 

Exports  not  to  be  taxed,  34,  44; 
effects  of  this  prohibition  upon 
the  revenue  system  of  the  United 
States,  145. 

FjlUCHET,  M.,  French  minister,  his 
letter  compromising  Edmund 
Randolph,  129. 

Federal  as  opposed  to  national  gov- 
ernment in  the  United  States, 
31-2,  59-60. 

Federalist  party,  origin  of,  95-6  ; 
election  of,  1796-7,  1 12-14  ;  its  re- 
lation to  the  disputes  with  France 
and  England,  115-20,  129  ;  taking 
shape,  131  ;  accessions  to,  in  con- 
Bequence  of  anti-French  feeling, 
1798-9,  139  ;  its  blunder  in  enact- 
ing alien  and  sedition  laws,  150-1, 
166-7 ;  divisions  and  animosities, 
157-62  ;  downfall,  163  ;  the  cause, 
165-6  ;  remaining  federalists  op- 
pose embargo,  201-3 ;  at  sixth 
presidential  election,  211  ;  rap- 
prochement  of  moderate  feder- 
alists with  republicans,  under 
Madison,  215-16 ;  the  federalists 
in  Congress  oppose  War  of  1812, 
225-6 ;  opposition  to  the  war  while 
in  progress,  240-6. 
Federalist,"  the,  54-5,  90. 

Fisheries,  Newfoundland,  by  Trea- 
ty of  Ghent,  247. 

Florida,  177-8 ;  boundary  of  ,  185 ; 
appropriation  for  purchase  of, 
203-4. 

Foreigners  (see  also  Aliens),  Fed- 
eralist distrust  of,  176. 

France,  creditor  of  the  United 
States,  78,   100 ;  her  share  in 


achieving  American  independ- 
ence, 99,  100 ;  effect  of  French 
Revolution  upon  politics  of  the 
United  States,  101-3  ;  difficulties 
with  France  in  Washington's 
second  term,  115-19,  122-3;  in 
Adams's  administration,  138-42 ; 
the  French  treaty,  142-3  ;  rela- 
tions of  France  to  Louisiana,  178  ; 
France  cedes  that  territory  to  the 
United  States,  179-80  ;  her  in- 
terest in  San  Domingo,  185-6  ; 
her  war  with  England  incites 
France  to  outrages  on  neutral 
rights,  190-1 ;  controversy  over 
the  repeal  of  the  decrees,  217-21. 

Franklin,  Benjamin,  commissioner 
to  negotiate  treaties  of  commerce, 
1784-5,  13  ;  in  constitutional  con- 
vention, 24-5. 

Franklin,  or  Frankland,  proposed 
State  of,  12. 

Frenchtown,  action  at,  235. 

Fries's  riot,  146-7,  161. 

Fugitives  from  justice  to  be  deliv- 
ered up,  47-8. 

Fugitives  from  slavery,  rendition 
of,  48;  first  fugitive  slave  law, 
108. 

Fulton,  Robert,  invention  of  steam- 
boat, 206. 

Funding  system,  Hamilton's,  126; 
Madison's,  256. 

Gaines,  General,  commanding 
United  States  forces  in  Canada, 
237. 

Gallatin,  Albert,  takes  part  in  op- 
position to  whiskey  tax,  124 ;  be- 
comes secretary  of  the  treasury, 
187 ;  a  patron  of  the  expedition 
of  Lewis  and  Clarke,  21 0 ;  in  Madi- 
son's cabinet,  214-15;  commis- 
sioner at  Treaty  of  Ghent,  247 ; 
advocates  re-charter  of  bank  in 
1811,  254 ;  leaves  the  treasury, 
256. 

Genet  episode,  the,  115-17. 

Geographical  relations  of  the  col- 
onies, as  withstanding  a  move- 
ment toward  a  common  govern- 
ment, 2-4. 

George,  Fort,  236. 

Georgia,  in  constitutional  conven- 
tion, 32,  35 ;  ratifies  constitution, 
52 ;  votes  against  Bill  of  Righti, 


322 


INDEX 


53;  in  1790  largely  occupied  by 
Indian  tribes,  64 ;  tonnage  dues, 
84;  population  in  1790,  108;  the 
Chisholm  case,  127  ;  the  presi- 
dential election  of  1800,  164  ;  rep- 
resentation in  Congress  after 
second  census,  174 ;  election  of 
1804,  188;  election  of  1813,  251  ; 
representation  in  Congress  at  the 
third  census,  252. 

Germans  settle  in  New  York  and 
Pennsylvania,  4. 

Gerry,  Elbridge,  in  constitutional 
convention,  30,  36,  n.  ;  opposes 
constitution,  57 ;  the  power  of 
removal,  90 ;  envoy  to  France, 
138  -  9  ;  elected  vice  -  president, 
224. 

Ghent,  Treaty  of,  239,  247-8. 
Gibbons  vs.    Ogdeii^  in  Supreme 

Court,  3,  n.,  207. 
Gibbs,  George,  Administrations  of 

Washington  and  Adams,  quoted, 

132-3. 

Goodrich,  Elizur,  displaced  by 
President  Jefferson,  171. 

Gorham,  Nathaniel,  in  constitu- 
tional convention,  34. 

Gouge,  Wm.  M.,  disparaging  view 
of  the  Bank  of  the  Revolution, 
82. 

Graham,    Sir    James,  Cutting 

away  the  broken  mast  of  the 

public  credit,"  80. 
Granger,    Gideon,  in  Jefferson's 

cabinet,  188. 
Griswold,   Roger,  enters  Adams's 

cabinet,  161. 
Gunboats,  Jefferson's  hobby,  204. 

Habersham,  Joseph,  postmaster- 
general,  187-8. 

Hamilton,  Alexander,  delegate  to 
Annapolis  convention,  19-20;  in 
constitutional  convention,  25-6, 
34  ;  chief  author  of  the  ' '  Federal- 
ist," 54 ;  in  New  York  convention, 
60 ;  charged  with  cutting  down 
Adams's  vote  in  1789,  62 ;  advo- 
cates payment  of  Revolutionary 
debt  in  full,  and  assumption  of 
State  debts,  79-81  ;  advocates 
National  Bank,  82-3,  254,  273 ; 
in  Washington's  cabinet,  91-6 ; 
his  Sinking  Fund,  126;  retires 
from    the    treasury,  130 ;  the 


third  presidential  election,  134; 
appointed  second  in  command  to 
Washington,  with  reference  to 
anticipated  war  with  France, 
140  ;  his  plans,  141 ;  intrigues 
with  Adams's  secretaries,  158-9 ; 
tries  to  substitute  C.  C.  Pinckney 
for  Adams,  in  1800,  161-3;  his 
pamphlet  against  the  president, 
161-2;  his  tragic  death,  189; 
greatest  of  all  secretaries  of  the 
treasury,  214  ;  his  influence  on 
the  development  of  nationality, 
270. 

Hamilton,  Paul,  in  Madison's  cabi- 
net, 214. 

Hampton,  General,  invasion  of 
Canada,  236. 

Hancock,  John,  presides  over  Mas- 
sachusetts convention  which  rat- 
ified the  constitution,  56-7. 

Hanson  riot,  227-9. 

Harmer,  General,  defeated  by  In- 
dians, 104. 

Harrison,  General  William  H., 
235. 

Harrison,  Robert  H.,  associate 
justice  Supreme  Court,  98. 

Hartford  convention,  244-7. 

Hartley,  Thomas,  advocates  pro- 
tection, 85. 

Hearn,  Professor,  machinery  in 
agriculture,  71. 

Henry,  John,  his  mission  to  New 
England,  223-4. 

Henry,  Patrick,  in  Revolutionary 
Congress,  30;  opposes  constitu- 
tion of  1787,  57,  59,  74. 

Holland,  creditor  of  the  United 
States,  78,  100. 

Howick,  Lord,  Orders  in  Council, 
196. 

Hull,  Commodore,  231. 
Hull,  General,  234-5. 

Impeachment,  43,  46,  47;  im- 
peachment of  judges,  172-3. 

Importations  prohibited.  See  Non- 
importation Act. 

Impressment  of  seamen,  191-3, 197, 
224,  226,  239,  247. 

Income  tax,  declared  by  Supreme 
Court  not  to  be  a  direct  tax,  145. 

Indian  tribes,  Congress  has  power 
to  regulate  commerce  with,  43; 
treaties  with,  105-7. 


INDEX 


323 


Indian  wars,  104-6,  123,  224,  347, 
249. 

Indiana  Territory,  the,  155 ;  State 
of,  257. 

Indians  generally  not  allowed  to 
vote  in  southern  colonies,  49. 

Indians  in  Georgia,  64. 

Inspection  laws  (at  ports)  of  States, 
45. 

Intelligencer,  The  National^  188. 

Internal  improvements,  issue  re- 
garding, 304-5 ;  Madison  vetoes 
bill,  262-3. 

Inventive  genius  of  American  peo- 
ple, 67-9;  accounted  for,  69-72. 

Iredell,  James,  associate  justice 
Supreme  Court,  98. 

Irish,  concerned  in  Whiskey  Insur- 
rection, 124. 

Jackson,  General  Andrew,  defeats 
Creeks,  239  ;  wins  battle  of  New 
Orleans,  239  ;  his  opinion  of  the 
Hartford  convention,  244-5. 

Jacobins,  epithet  applied  to  demo- 
cratic-republicans, 1 13. 

Jay,  John,  his  decision  in  Chisholm 
vs.  State  of  Georgia,  30  ;  his  share 
in  The  Federalist,  .54;  chief  jus- 
tice, 97-8  ;  his  disposition  to  sac- 
rifice the  navigation  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi, 111-12 ;  negotiates  treaty 
with  England,  120-1  ;  resigns 
chief  justiceship,  126-7;  the 
third  presidential  election,  134; 
refuses  to  take  an  improper  par- 
tisan advantage,  163. 

Jay  treaty,  120-1,  191,  222,  247. 

Jefferson,  Thomas,  commissioner 
to  negotiate  treaties  of  commerce, 
1784-5,  13 ;  his  proposition  re- 
garding domestic  debt  of  United 
States,  78-9  ;  assumption  of  State 
debts,  81,  94 ;  opposition  to  ex- 
cise duties,  86 ;  his  relations  to 
his  cabinet,  91  ;  in  Washington's 
cabinet,  91-6  ;  "  Jeffersonian  sim- 
plicity," 99  ;  opposing  increase  of 
regular  army,  106 ;  vituperative 
epithets  toward  federalists,  113 ; 
blames  both  France  and  England, 
121 ;  leaves  Washington's  cabinet : 
his  commercial  report,  128-9 ;  rela- 
tions to  Adams,  132;  candidate 
for  the  presidency  in  1800, 134-5  ;  I 
elected  vice-president,  135-6 ;  op-  i 


posed  to  a  powerful  navy,  1 48 ; 
impotenoe  of  pohtical  libel,  150; 
his  share  in  the  nullification  res- 
olutions, 151,  153,  155;  elected 
president,  162-5 ;  his  administra- 
tion. Chapters  IX.  and  X.  ;  hia 
relations  to  the  civil  service, 
169-71,  175 ;  the  charge  of  a 
*' corrupt  bargain,"  17U-1  ;  his 
opposition  to  excise  duties, 
bankruptcy  laws,  and  an  extend- 
ed term  of  naturalization,  175-7; 
his  part  in  the  acquisition  of 
Louisiana,  179-84,  272  ;  his  cabi- 
net, 187-8;  re-elected,  188-9;  Eng- 
land and  France  competing  in  in- 
juries to  the  United  States,  190-7 ; 
the  Monroe  treaty  :  Jefferson  re- 
fuses to  submit  it  to  the  Senate, 
197-8  ;  the  president's  proclama- 
tion regarding  the  Chesapeake 
outrage,  198-9;  Jefferson's  em- 
bargo, 200-1  ;  his  dislike  of  foreign 
commerce,  201-2,  240-1 ;  consents 
to  repeal  of  the  embargo,  202-3  ; 
his  gunboat  project,  204  ;  opposes 
internal  improvements,  205 ;  his 
indignation  at  Burr's  acquittal, 
207  ;  prosperity  of  the  finances  in 
his  administration,  208 ;  sets  on 
foot  expedition  of  Lewis  and 
Clarke,  210;  his  later  cabinet, 
310-11  ;  declines  re-election,  211 ; 
selects  Madison  as  his  successor, 
212,  264  ;  his  obligations  to  Madi- 
son, 313 ;  conquest  of  Canada, 
330,  n.  ;  back-pay  scandals,  357  ; 
indisposition  to  war,  372. 
Jews,  in  some  colonies  not  allowed 

to  vote,  50. 
Johnson,  Thomas,  associate  justice 

Supreme  Court,  98. 
Jones,  Captain,  U.  S.  N.,  231. 
Judiciary,  State  and  national,  war 

upon,  172-3. 
Judiciary  of  the  United  States,  or- 
ganization and  jurisdiction,  46-7 ; 
its  office  in  the  development  of 
the  nation,  97,  167,  173,  270 ;  its 
jurisdiction  limited  by  eleventh 
amendment.  127-8 ;  suppose  the 
judiciary  joins  with  Congress  in 
an  infraction  of  the  constitution  ? 
151-5;  the  Olmstead  case,  352-3. 
I  See  Courts  of  the  United  States 
and  Supreme  Court. 


324 


Il^DEX 


Kentucky,  interested  in  navigation 
of  the  Mississippi,  58  ;  population 
in  1790,  64  ;  admitted  to  the 
Union,  109;  its  nullification  res- 
olutions, 151,  153,  252;  presiden- 
tial election  of  1800,  164 ;  rep- 
resentation in  Congress  after 
second  census,  1?4 ;  election  of 
1804,  188;  election  of  1812,  251  ; 
representation  in  Congress  after 
third  census,  251. 

King,  Rnfus,  in  constitutional 
convention,  25  ;  negotiates  treaty 
with  England,  186  ;  nominated 
for  vice-presidency,  188  ;  again, 
213 ;  nominated  for  the  presi- 
dency, 264. 

Knox,  Henry,  in  Washington's  cab- 
inet, 93-4  ;  retires,  130;  declines 
appointment  as  Hamilton's  jun- 
ior, 140. 

Lands,  western,  an  important  is- 
sue in  formation  of  Confederation, 
9-10,  12. 

Lansing,  John,  in  constitutional 
convention,  34  ;  opposes  consti- 
tution, 60. 

Lee,  Charles,  attornej'-general,  130. 

Lee,  General  Harry,  defends  Han- 
son's printing-office,  228-9. 

L'Enfant,  Major,  engineer  of  the 
capital,  156. 

Leopard  and  Chesapeake,  battle  of, 
193. 

Lewis  and  Clarke  expedition,  210. 
Lincoln,  General,  puts  down  Shays's 

Rebellion,  18. 
Lincoln,   Levi,   enters  Jefferson's 

cabinet,  187. 
Lingan,  General,  killed  in  defence 

of  Hanson's  printing-office,  227-9. 
Little  Belt,  H.  M.  S.  sloop  of  war, 

221. 

Livingston,  Chancellor,  supports 
the  constitution,  60 ;  assists  Ful- 
ton in  bringing  steamboats  into 
use,  206. 

Lodge,  Henry  Cabot,  Life  of  Ham- 
ilton^  quoted,  140,  n, 

Louisiana,  the  Territory,  successive 
ownership  of,  177  -  8 ;  France 
cedes  it  to  the  United  States, 
179-80;  political  consequences  of 
the  cession,  180-4. 
The  State,  admitted,  257 ;  elec- 


tion of  1812,  251 ;  representation 
in  Congress  after  third  censusi, 
251 ;  furious  opposition  from  ir- 
reconciled  federalists  to  its  ad- 
mission, 257. 

Lowndes,  William  J.,  advocates 
tariff  of  1816,  261. 

Loyalists,  confiscated  estates  of, 
12. 

Lundy's  Lane,  battle  of,  238. 

McDoNOUGH,  Commodore,  victory 
on  Lake  Champlain,  231,  237. 

Mc  Henry,  Fort,  bombardment  of, 
238. 

Mc  Henry,  James,  secretary  of 
war,  130;  retained  by  Adams, 
137 ;  intrigues  against  the  presi- 
dent, 157-9  ;  his  resignation  de- 
manded, 160. 

McLean,  associate  justice  Supreme 
Court,  106. 

Madison,  James,  in  constitutional 
Convention,  25  ;  his  share  in  Tke 
Federalist^  54 ;  advocates  ratifi- 
cation in  Virginia  convention, 
59-60 ;  dilatoriness  of  first  Con- 
gress, 63;  reference  to  Patrick 
Henry,  74 ;  opposes  National 
Bank,  82;  first  tariff,  84-5; 
power  of  removal,  90  ;  Jefferson's 
lieutenant,  96 ;  supports  Jeffer- 
son's commercial  report,  129; 
his  share  in  the  Virginia  resolu- 
tions of  nullification,  151-5;  in 
Jefferson's  cabinet,  187 ;  non-im- 
portation act,  200 ;  chosen  to 
succeed  Jefferson,  212  ;  his  claims 
to  the  succession,  212 ;  elected, 
215 ;  his  administration.  Chap- 
ters XL,  Xn.,  and  XIH.;  his 
cabinet,  214;  conciliates  federal- 
ists, 215;  dealings  with  England 
and  France,  217-20;  carried  on 
toward  war  by  the  extremists  of 
his  party,  222  ;  his  war  message, 
224  ;  is  renominated  and  re-elect- 
ed, 224 ;  upholds  national  author- 
ity in  Olmstead  case,  252-3 ;  his 
later  cabinet,  256 ;  advocates  pro- 
tection in  1816,  258-61  ;  vetoes 
bank  bill  of  1814,  262;  vetoes 
internal  improvements  bill,  262-3. 

Madison's  "  Journal,"  25,  53. 

Maine,  District  of,  attempt  to  set 
up  a  separate  State,  12  ;  delegates 


INDEX 


325 


from,  oppose  constitution  in 
Massachusetts  convention,  56 ; 
population  in  1790,  64. 

Manufactures  repressed  in  the  Col- 
onies, 68-9;  protection  of,  84-5; 
growth  promoted  by  War  of  1812, 
258-61,  269-70  ;  the  real  manu- 
facture of  the  United  States, 
during  the  first  fifty  years,  was 
the  manufacture  of  farms,  267. 

Marshall,  Chief  Justice,  105;  his 
views  of  the  liability  of  a  State 
to  be  sued  by  a  citizen  of  another 
State,  127,  /i.;  envoy  to  France, 
138-9;  enters  Adams's  cabinet, 
161 ;  appointed  chief  justice, 
167,  252 ;  presides  at  Burr's  trial, 
206 ;  his  chief  contributions  to 
the  theory  of  the  constitution, 
253,  270. 

Martin,  Luther,  in  constitutional 
convention,  27  ;  opposes  consti- 
tution, 57. 

Maryland,  its  colonial  dispute  with 
Virginia,  3,  19 ;  votes  against  Bill 
of  Rights,  53  ;  Tories,  55  ;  ratifies 
constitution,  57 ;  cedes  district 
for  seat  of  government,  107-8 ; 
presidential  election  of  1800,  164, 
170;  representation  in  Congress 
after  second  census,  174  ;  election 
of  1804,  188  ;  Hanson  riot,  327-9  ; 
election  of  1812,  251 ;  represen- 
tation in  Congress  after  third 
census,  251-2. 

Mason,  George,  in  constitutional 
convention,  25,  36,  n.  ;  opposes 
ratification,  58. 

Massachusetts,  its  colonial  dispute 
with  Connecticut,  1647  -  50,  2  ; 
Tories,  55 ;  convention  to  ratify 
constitution,  55-7;  second  State 
in  population,  1790,  108 ;  presi- 
dential election  of  1800, 164  ;  rep- 
resentation in  Congress  after  sec- 
ond census,  174  ;  election  of  1804, 
188 ;  last  stronghold  of  federalism, 
217 ;  opposition  to  the  War  of  1812, 
242-4 ;  represented  in  Hartford 
convention,  244  ;  election  of  1812, 
251 ;  representation  in  Congress 
after  third  census,  251. 

Maumee  River,  operations  on, 
235. 

Mechanical  genius  of  American  peo- 
ple, accounted  for,  67  -  72  ;  in- 


fluence on  naval  power,  232-3* 
promoting  the  rapid  settling  up  oi 
the  West,  266-7. 
Meigs,  Fort,  235. 

Miami  Confederation,  war  with, 
104-6,  123. 

Michigan,  base  of  operations  against 
Canada,  234-5. 

Midnight  appointments,  so-called, 
of  President  Adams,  169-70. 

Milan  decree,  196,  217-21,  225. 

Military  Academy  established  at 
West  Point,  174. 

Militia  of  States,  relation  of  general 
government  to,  44  ;  employment 
of  militia,  instead  of  "  regulars," 
advocated  by  democratic-repub- 
lican party,  106-7,  233  ;  called 
out  to  enforce  whiskey  tax,  125 ; 
to  enforce  direct  tax,  147  ;  refusal 
of  governors  of  Massachusetts 
and  Connecticut  to  allow  the  mili- 
tia to  march,  233-4  ;  Pennsylvania 
militia  called  out  to  resist  execu- 
tion of  decree  of  United  States 
court,  252-3. 

Mint,  established,  81 ;  proposition 
to  abolish  it  under  Jefferson,  176. 

Miranda,  Francisco  de,  his  Spanish- 
American  projects,  141. 

Mississippi,  navigation  of,  impor- 
tance of  the  question,  3-4,  58,  74, 
111-12,  141,  178,  208,  270. 

Mississippi  Territory,  155 ;  State 
of,  257. 

Monocrats,  epithet  by  Jefferson  ap- 
plied to  federalists,  113. 

Monroe,  James,  minister  to  Paris, 
recalled,  122 ;  his  treaty  with 
England,  177-8  ;  his  claims  to  the 
succession  in  1808,  212,  215 ;  be- 
comes secretary  of  state  under 
Madison  and  "  heir  -  apparent," 
220 ;  his  correspondence  with 
British  minister  following  decla- 
ration of  war,  224  ;  assumes  duties 
of  secretary  of  war,  263  ;  nomi- 
nated for  presidency,  263 ;  elected, 
264. 

Montreal,  expedition  against,  236. 

Morris,  Gouverneur,  in  constitu- 
tional convention,  55. 

Mosquito  fleet,  so-called,  in  Jeffer- 
son's term,  204. 

Murray,  William  Vans,  envoy  to 
France,  142. 


326 


INDEX 


Napoleon.    See  Bonaparte. 

National  as  opposed  to  federal  gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States, 
31-2,  59-60. 

Nationality,  American,  sentiment 
of,  3-9,  102-3  ;  influence  of  west- 
ern States  upon,  109-11 ;  influence 
of  the  acquisition  of  Louisiana, 
181-4;  steady  growth,  under  a 
common  form  of  government,  216 ; 
retrospect,  267-73. 

Naturalization  laws,  176;  proposal 
of  Hartford  convention,  L'46. 

Navigation  act,  question  of  a  two- 
thirds  vote,  35,  84 ;  navigation  act 
following  War  of  1812,  262. 

Navy,  right  to  maintain,  confined 
to  the  United  States,  43,  45  ;  Navy 
Department  created,  147-8;  Pres- 
ident Adams  favors  a  navy,  148  ; 
Jefferson  favors  gunboats,  204 ; 
the  navy  in  the  War  of  1812, 230-3. 

Negroes  generally  not  allowed  to 
vote  in  southern  Colonies,  49. 

Neutral  trade,  England's  violations 
of,  119,  191-5  ;  Prance  violates 
neutral  rights,  195-7,  218-20,  239- 
40. 

Neutrality,  Washington's  patriotic 
position,  101-2,  141 ;  general  neu- 
trality law  of  1817,  248. 

Newark,  Canada,  burned  by  Amer- 
ican forces,  236,  238. 

New  England  Colonies  not  hospita- 
ble to  foreigners,  49. 

New  England  States  generally  op- 
pose embargo,  202-3  ;  last  strong- 
hold of  federalism,  217;  Henry's 
mission,  223-4 ;  opposition  to  the 
War  of  1812,  241-7;  election  of 
1812,  251  ;  oppose  tariff  of  1816, 
261. 

New  Hampshire  in  constitutional 
convention,  22,  31  ;  ratification  of 
constitution,  56-7 ;  claims  Ver- 
mont, 109;  presidential  election 
of  1800,  164  ;  representation  in 
Congress  after  second  census, 
174;  election  of  1804,  188;  one 
county  represented  in  Hartford 
convention,  244  ;  election  of  1812, 
251  ;  representation  in  Congress 
after  third  census,  252. 

New  Haven,  protest  of  merchants 
against  displacement  of  Collector 
Goodrich,  171. 


New  Jersey,  its  dispute  with  Ne\i» 
York,  2-3  ;  represented  at  Annap- 
olis convention,  19 ;  in  constitu- 
tional convention,  33 ;  ratifies 
constitution,  52 ;  presidential 
election  of  1800,  164;  represen- | 
tation  in  Congress  after  second 
census,  174 ;  election  of  1804, 
188;  election  of  1812,  251;  rep- 
resentation in  Congress  after 
third  census,  252. 

Newport  taxes  goods  destined -for 
Massachusetts,  3,  n. 

New  Orleans,  right  of  deposit  at, 
141,  178;  battle  of,  239. 

New  York  (City),  population  in 
1790,  64 ;  Congress  first  meets 
under  the  constitution  in,  107; 
carried  by  the  republicans,  under 
Burr's  management,  162,  n. 

New  York  (State),  its  dispute  with 
(Connecticut  and  New  Jersey, 
2-3 ;  taxes  goods  destined  for 
other  States,  3,  7i.;  settled  largely 
by  Dutch  and  Germans,  4 ;  prej- 
udices against  New  England,  4, 
?/..;  refuses  assent  to  revenue 
system  of  1783,  19 ;  sends  dele- 
gates to  Annapolis,  19;  in  con- 
stitutional convention,  34  ;  strug- 
gle over  ratification,  56,  60-1  ; 
central  New  York  unsettled  in 
1790,  64;  fourth  State  in  popu- 
lation in  1790,  108;  claims  Ver- 
mont, 109 ;  relations  to  the 
election  of  1800,  162-4  ;  represen- 
tation in  Congress  after  second 
census,  174;  election  of  1804, 
188  ;  election  of  1812,  251  ;  repre- 
sentation in  Congress  after  third 
census,  251. 

Niagara,  Fort,  236 ;  battle  of,  237. 

Nicholas,  George,  presents  nulli- 
fication resolutions  in  Kentucky 
legislature,  151. 

Nomination  of  president,  how 
made,  132-3,  224,  264. 

Non-importation  act,  199-200,  217- 
20. 

Northern  opposed  to  southern 
States  in  constitutional  conven- 
tion, 24,  26-7,  32-3,  34-5,  50, 
96-7 ;  sectional  lines  drawn  in 
the  vote  on  the  first  National 
Bank,  83 ;  in  the  vote  on  the 
War  of  1812,  325. 


IKDEX 


327 


North  Carolina  in  constitutional 
convention,  32,  53 ;  delays  rati- 
fication, 61,  64;  accedes,  73-4; 
tonnage  dues,  84 :  small  stills, 
86  ;  Tennessee  created  from,  126  ; 
presidential  election  of  1800,  164 ; 
representation  in  Congress  after 
second  census,  174 ;  election  of 
1804,  188  ;  election  of  1812,  251 ; 
representation  in  Congress  after 
third  census,  251-2. 

North  Point,  battle  of,  238. 

Nullification  resolutions,  179S-9, 
151-5,  252;  compare  with  pro- 
posals of  Hartford  convention, 
256 ;  nullification  due  to  eva- 
sion of  the  question  of  national- 
ity by  constitutional  convention, 
268. 

Ohio,  settlement  of,  104  ;  admitted 
as  a  State— its  part  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  country,  173-4  ;  elec- 
tion of  1804,  188;  election  of 
1812,  251 ;  representation  in  Con- 
gress after  third  census,  252. 

Olmstead  case,  the,  252-3. 

Orders  in  Council,  British,  195-6, 
198-200,  217-20,  225. 

Ordinance  of  1787,  39-40. 

Pakenham,  British  general,  killed 
at  New  Orleans,  239. 

Paper  money.  Revolutionary,  11, 
14-15,78;  paper-money  craze  of 
1785-6,  18-19  ;  issues  forbidden  to 
States,  44  ;  no  legal-tender  paper 
money  issued  during  War  of 
1812,  254-5. 

Patterson,  William,  in  constitu- 
tional convention,  33. 

Peace,  Treaty  of  Ghent,  239,  247-8. 

Peasantry,  the  American  agricul- 
turists not  a,  67,  266. 

Pennsylvania,  its  colonial  relations 
to  Delaware,  3  ;  taxes  products 
of  other  States,  3,  w.;  settled 
largely  by  non-English  people, 
4 ;  Quaker  settlers,  5 ;  repre- 
sented at  Annapolis  convention, 
19 ;  ratifies  constitution,  52 ; 
small  stills,  86;  third  State  in 
population,  1790,  108;  militia 
called  out  to  enforce  whiskey 
tax,  125 ;  to  enforce  direct  tax, 


147;  presideRCial  election  of 
1800,  164  ;  war  upon  the  judi- 
ciary, 112-3  ;  representation  in 
Congress  after  second  census, 
174;  election  of  1804,  188;  anti- 
slavery  agitation,  210;  election 
of  1812,  251  ;  representation  in 
Congress  after  third  census,  251  ; 
militia  called  out  to  resist  execu- 
tion of  decree  of  United  States 
court,  252-3. 
Percival,  Mr.,  Orders  in  Council, 
196. 

Perdido,  the  river,  alleged  by  the 
United  States  to  be  the  proper 
boundary  of  Florida,  185. 

Perry,  Commodore,  victory  on  Lake 
Erie,  231,  235. 

Philadelphia,  constitutional  con- 
vention called  at,  20  ;  population 
in  1790,  64  ;  mint  established,  81 ; 
National  Bank  established,  84 ; 
Congress  meets  for  ten  years  in, 
107  ;  yellow  fever,  126  ;  the  Olm- 
stead case,  252-3. 

Pickering,  Judge,  impeachment  of, 
172. 

Pickering,  Timothy,  in  Washing- 
ton's cabinet,  129-30 ;  retained 
by  Adams,  137  ;  intrigues  against 
the  president,  157-60 ;  his  resig- 
nation demanded,  160. 

Pinckney,  Charles,  in  constitution- 
al convention,  26. 

Pinckney,  Charles  Cotesworth,  in 
constitutional  convention,  26,  53; 
appointed  minister  to  France, 
122  ;  ordered  out  of  FrjHice,  138  ; 
nominated  for  vice-presidency  in 
1800,  160,  161,  163;  nominated 
for  presidency,  188  ;  again,  213. 

Pinckney,  Thomas,  negoi|iates 
treaty  with  Spain,  122  ;  nominat- 
ed for  vice-president  with  John 
Adams,  but  defeated,  135-6,  168. 

Pinkney,  William,  envoy  to  Eng- 
land, 197,  221  ;  attorney-general, 
263. 

Pioneer  enterprise,  effect  in  pro- 
moting the  settlement  of  the 
West,  264-6. 

Pittsburg,  the  seat  of  the  Whiskey 
Insurrection,  124. 

Planting  opposed  to  commercial 
States,  in  constitutional  conven- 
tion, 35,  36,  53  ;  planting  inter 


328 


est  demands  protection  in  1816, 
258-61. 

Plattsburg,  battle  of,  237. 

Population  of  the  United  States, 
64,  108,  156,  233,265;  westward 
extension  of  population  one  of 
the  marvels  of  history,  264-6. 

Porter,  Commodore,  231. 

Porter,  Peter  B.,  report  on  the  in- 
jurious acts  of  England,  222-3. 

Postmaster-general,  office  of,  187-8. 

Post-offices  and  post-roads,  power  to 
establish,  43. 

Potomac,  seat  of  government  es- 
tablished on,  107,  156. 

Preble,  Commodore,  187. 

President  of  the  United  States, 
office  of,  34,  36,  43,  45-6  ;  relations 
to  the  cabinet,  88-91  ;  proposed 
title  of,  98  71.  ;  candidates,  how 
nominated,  132-3,  224,  264;  elec- 
toral votes,  how  cast,  prior  to 
twelfth  amendment,  1S3,  163-5 ; 
twelfth  amendment  to  constitu- 
tion changes  mode  of  election, 
168-9. 

President,  United  States  frigate, 
221. 

Prevost,  Gen.,  British  commander, 
defeated  at  Plattsburg,  237. 

Privateers  in  War  of  1812,  231-2. 

Property  qualifications  in  Colonies, 
50  ;  by  ordinance  of  1787,  40. 

Protection  in  the  United  States,  the 
first  tariff,  84-5 ;  the  protectionist 
argument  of  1816,  258-61. 

Prussia,  J.  Q.  Adams  appointed 
minister  to,  143-4. 

Putnam,  General  Rufus,  settlement 
of  Ohio,  40. 

Quakers  settle  in  Pennsylvania,  5  ; 
not  allowed  to  vote  in  some  col- 
onies, 50  ;  oppose  slavery,  210. 

Queenstown,  Canada,  attack  on,  235. 

Quincy,  Josiah,  threat  of  secession 
upon  admission  of  Louisiana,  257. 

Race,  differences  of.  as  withstand- 
ing movement  toward  a  common 
government,  4-5. 

Railroads,  their  introduction  re- 
moves the  issue  of  internal  im- 
provements from  American  poli- 
tics, 205-6. 

Raisin,  river,  operations  on,  235. 


Rambouillet  decree,  218,  220. 

Randolph,  Edmund,  in  constitu- 
tional convention,  27,  31,  34,  36, 
n.,  37,  /i.,  184;  refuses  to  sign 
constitution,  but  advocates  rati- 
fication, 58-9  ;  in  Washington's 
cabinet,  83,  93-4 ;  becomes  secre- 
tary of  state,  but  soon  retires, 
under  a  cloud,  129. 

Randolph,  John,  conducts  impeach- 
ment of  Judge  Chase,  172  ;  prop- 
osition to  abolish  mint,  176  ;  re- 
fuses to  assent  to  admission  of 
new  States,  181,  n.  ;  the  non-im- 
portation act,  199,  n.  ;  his  faction 
known  as  Quids,"  215  :  opposes 
tariff  of  1816,  261. 

Ratification  of  the  constitution, 
nine  States  sufficient,  36-8,  49, 
57 ;  struggle  over  ratification, 
eleven  States  accede,  51-61;  North 
Carolina  and  Rhode  Island  ioin, 
73-4.  ^  ' 

Regulars  vs,  militia,  106-7,  233. 

Religion,  differences  of,  as  with- 
standmg  movement  toward  a  com- 
mon government,  5  ;  no  religious 
tests  for  office  under  the  United 
States,  49  ;  religious  qualifications 
in  the  Colonies,  50  ;  any  establish- 
ment of  religion  forbidden  by  first 
amendment  to  constitution,  75. 

Removal,  power  of,  by  the  presi- 
dent alone,  89-90. 

Representation  in  Congress,  should 
it  be  equal  or  proportional  ?  32-4  ; 
redistribution  of  representatives, 
108,  174,  252. 

Representatives,  House  of,  con- 
stitution of,  34,  41-5  ;  asserts  a 
claim  to  participate  in  the  settle- 
ment of  international  questions 
by  way  of  treaties,  121-2  ;  chooses 
president  in  default  of  popular 
election,  133-4. 

Repression,  political,  the  policy  of, 
148-50. 

Republican  form  of  government 
guaranteed  to  every  State,  48. 

Republican  (democratic-republican) 
party,  origin  of,  96-7 ;  opposes 
National  Bank,  82-4,  254  ;  election 
of  1796-7, 112-14 ;  the  party  taking 
shape,  131  ;  opposes  mtemal  im- 
provements, 205 ;  rapprochement 
of   republicans    with  moderate 


INDEX 


329 


federalists,  in  Madison's  admin- 
istration, 215-1(5;  ''old  republi- 
canism," 316-17,  220,  257;  in- 
fluence of  acquisition  of  Louis- 
iana upon  that  party,  180-4 ;  in- 
fluence of  War  of  1812,  255-6 ; 
change  in  the  attitude  of  the  party 
toward  national  authority,  271-3. 
Requisitions,  failure  of  tiie  system 
of,  8-9. 

Revenue  bills  must  originate  in  the 
House  of  Representatives,  Senate 
may  amend,  43. 

Rhode  Island,  settled  by  Baptists, 
5;  not  represented  in  constitu- 
tional convention,  21-2,  31  ;  re- 
fuses to  ratify  constitution,  61-4; 
accedes,  73-4;  legislature  repudi- 
ates the  nullification  resolutions 
of  1798-9,  153 ;  presidential  elec- 
tion of  1800,  163-4 ;  representa- 
tion in  Congress  after  second  cen- 
sus, 174 ;  election  of  1804,  188 ; 
represented  in  Hartford  conven- 
tion, 244 ;  election  of  1812,  251  ; 
representation  in  Congress  after 
third  census,  251. 

Riall,  General,  British  commander 
in  Canada,  237. 

Richmond,  population  in  1790,  64. 

Rights,  Bill  of,  absence  from  con- 
stitution as  proposed  to  States, 
53-4,  58  ;  supplied  by  first  ten 
amendments,  74-7. 

Rittenhouse,  David,  director  of  the 
mint,  81. 

Rodney,  Caesar  A.,  in  Jefferson's 
cabinet,  211  ;  in  Madison's  cabi- 
net, 214,  263. 

Rogers,  Hon.  Horatio,  paper  on  the 
relations  of  Rhode  Island  to  the 
constitutional  convention,  22. 

Ross,  British  general,  burns  Wash- 
ington :  killed  before  Baltimore, 
238. 

Rush,  Richard,  in  Madison's  cabi- 
net, 263. 

Rutledge,  John,  in  constitutional 
convention,  26,  34  ;  associate 
justice  Supreme  Court,  98 ;  Sen- 
ate refuses  to  confirm  him  as 
chief  justice,  127. 

Sackett's  Harbor,  defence  of,  237. 
San  Domingo,  revolted  blacks  of, 
trade  prohibited  with,  185-6, 


Scott,  Colonel,  defeated  by  Miamis, 
104. 

Scott,  General  Winfield,  in  Canada, 
237. 

Search,  right  of,  191-2  ;  British  ex- 
ercise of,  insolent  and  injurious, 
192-3. 

Secession,  w^as  it  threatened  by 
New  England,  on  account  of  em- 
bargo and  War  of  1812  V  223-4  ; 
241-7;  Josiah  Quincy's  speech 
against  adudssion  of  Louisiana, 
257  ;  the  doctrine  rendered  pos- 
sible because  the  constitutional 
convention  dodged  the  question 
of  nationality,  268.  [See  unifica- 
tion.] 

Sedition  law,  the  enactment,  149-50; 
republican,  opposition  to,  151-5, 
166-7. 

Senate,  United  States,  34,  42-3, 
45-6,  48,  93 ;  its  longer  term  of 
service  makes  its  political  charac- 
ter more  constant,  114. 

Settlement,  area  of,  264-5. 

Shays's  Rebellion,  16-18  ;  partici- 
pants in,  oppose  constitution  of 
1787,  56. 

Sherman,  Roger,  in  constitutional 
convention,  25 ;  power  of  re- 
moval, 90. 

Sinking  fund,  Hamilton's,  126; 
Madison's,  256,  273. 

Slavery  and  a  Bill  of  Rights,  53. 

Slavery,  agitation  against,  209-10. 

Slaves,     Fugitive.    See  Fugitive 


Slaves,  should  they  be  counted  in 
apportioning  representatives  in 
Congress  ?  32-3,  251  ;  see  propo- 
sal of  Hartford  convention,  245. 

Slave  trade,  domestic  :  influence  of 
Louisiana  purchase  upon  the  de- 
mand for  slave  labor,  184. 

Slave  trade,  foreign,  not  to  be  pro- 
hibited before  1808,  34-5,  44; 
abolished,  208-9. 

Small,  Albion  W.,  The  Begin- 
nings of  American  Nationality ^ 
268. 

Smith,  General,  the  *' corrupt  bar- 
gain "  charge,  170. 

Smith,  Melancthon,  opposes  the 
constitution,  60. 

Smith,  Robert,  enters  Jefferson's 
cabinet,  187,  211  ;  in  Madison's 


330 


INDEX 


cabinet,  214  ;  resigns  and  appeals 
to  the  country  against  the  presi- 
dent, 219-20. 

Smith,  William  L. ,  opposes  Jeffer- 
son's commercial  report,  129. 

South  Carolina  in  constitutional 
convention,  32,  35,  53 ;  Tories, 
55  ;  ratihes  constitution,  57  ;  ton- 
nage dues,  84;  small  stills,  86; 
federalists  in,  96  ;  its  relations  to 
the  presidential  election  of  1796 
and  18(.0,  163-4 ;  representation 
in  Congress  after  second  census, 
174;  election  of  1804,  188;  elec- 
tion of  1812,  251 ;  representation 
in  Congress  after  third  census, 
251. 

Southern  opposed  to  northern 
States  in  constitutional  conven- 
tion, 24,  26-7,  32-3,  34-5,  53, 
96-7  ;  sectional  lines  drawn  in  the 
vote  on  the  first  National  Bank, 
83 ;  in  the  vote  on  the  War  of 
1812,  225;  southern  States  sup- 
port tariff  of  1816,  258-61. 

Spain,  dispute  with,  regarding  Flor- 
ida and  the  navigation  of  the 
Mississippi,  100  ;  Pinckney's 
treaty  of,  1795,  122 ;  federalist 
designs  upon  Spanish-American 
possessions,  141  ;  her  relations  to 
Florida  and  Louisiana,  177-8 ;  an- 
gered by  French  cession  of  Louis- 
iana to  the  United  States,  184-5  ; 
difficulties  with,  in  Jefferson's 
term,  203-4. 

Spoliation  claims,  French,  143. 

Springfield,  Mass.,  goods  destined 
for,  taxed  at  Saybrook,  2 ;  ar- 
senal attacked  by  Shays's  insur- 
gents, 17. 

St.  Clair,  General  Arthur,  defeated 
by  Indians,  104. 

St.  liouis,  its  acquisition  by  the 
United  States,  180. 

Stamp  duties  in  Adams's  adminis- 
tration, 144-5  ;  repealed  under 
Jefferson,  175;  reimposed  under 
Madison,  255,  273. 

State,  Department  of,  organized 
89 ;  the  secretary  of  state,  after 
first  few  terms,  becomes  ^'heir- 
ap[>arent." 

State  Revolutionary  debts,  assump- 
tion of,  80-1. 

States,  in  national  courts,  46-7.  ; 


States,  indivisible  except  by  thell 

own  consent,  48. 
States,  new,  how  admitted,  48; 
States  admitted,  109,  126,  173-4, 
181,  n,\  proposal  of  Hartford  con- 
vention regarding  admission  of 
new  States,  245. 
States,  nothing  in  their  constitution 
or  laws  to  be  allowed  to  impair 
effect  of  the  constitution  of  the 
United  States,  or  of  any  laws 
passed  in  accordance  therewith, 
or  any  treaties  made  under  tlie 
authority  of  the  United  States, 
49  ;  State  laws  in  conflict  with 
acts  of  the  United  States  de- 
clared void — Gibbon  vs.  Ogden, 
206. 

States,  relations  between,  47-8. 
States'  rights,  in  constitutional 
convention,  29,  37-8  ;  in  the  con- 
stitution, 49,  76-7 ;  how  to  be 
vindicated,  nullification  resolu- 
tions of  1798-9,  151-5;  influence 
of  Louisiana  purchase  upon  the 
extreme  States'  rights  doctrine, 
180-4  ;  the  Olmstead  case,  352-3 ; 
the  movement  of  events  deprives 
this  doctrine  of  much  of  its 
pristine  force,  271. 
States  under  the  Confederation, 
7-14. 

Steamboat,  the,  its  invention,  ef- 
fect on  national  development, 
20(). 

Stoddert,  Benjamin,   secretary  of 

the  navy,  148,  187. 
Story,  Judge,  his  commentaries,  30, 
267. 

Suffrage,  United  States,  41,  49-50. 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States,  46-7;  the  common  judge 
between  State  and  nation,  151 -.5; 
its  part  in  the  making  of  the  na- 
tion, 97,  167,  173,  270. 

Talleyrand,  French  minister  of 

foreign  affairs,  139. 
Tariff,  first,  84-5 ;  war  tariff,  255  ; 

tariff  of  1816,  261. 
Taxation,  lack  of  power  in  Confed- 
eration, 8-10;  power  conferred 
by  the  constitution,  43;  limita- 
tions on  the  tax  power  of  the 
United  States,  34,  44.  145-^. 
1  Tecumseh,  Indian  chief,  235. 


INDEX 


3;n 


Tennessee,  population  in  1790,  64  ; 
navigation  of  the  Mississippi,  74  ; 
admitted  as  a  State,  126 ;  pres- 
idential election  of  1800, 164 ;  rep- 
resentation in  Congress  after  sec- 
ond census,  174  ;  election  of  1804, 
188  ;  election  of  1812,  251 ;  repre- 
sentation in  Congress  after  third 
census,  252. 

Tenure  of  the  soil  in  the  United 
States,  popular,  66,  266. 

Territory  belonging  to  the  United 
States,  Congress  has  power  to 
govern,  48. 

Territory,  constitutional  signifi- 
cance of  the  term,  155-6. 

Thames  River,  battle  of,  235. 

Tohopeka,  battle  of,  239 

Tompkins,  D.  D. ,  nominated  for 
vice-presidency,  263  ;  elected,  264. 

Tonnage  duties,  84. 

Tories  of  the  Revolution  support 
the  constitution,  55. 

Toronto,  Can.,  burned  by  Amer- 
ican forces,  236,  238. 

Treason  against  the  United  States, 
definition  and  rules  of  evidence, 
47,  147,  207-8. 

Treasury  Department  organized, 
89;  secretary  reports  directly  to 
Congress,  145. 

Treasury  notes  during  War  of 
1812,  254-5. 

Treaties,  States  forbidden  to  make, 
44. 

Tripoli.    See  Barbary  States. 
Tucker,  J.  Randolph,  his  view  of 

the  constitution,  267-8. 
Tunis.    See  Barbary  States. 

Van  Rensselaer,  General,  235-6. 

Vermont,  population  in  1790,  64; 
admitted  to  the  Union,  109  ;  pres- 
idential election  of  1800,  164, 
170 ;  representation  in  Congress 
after  second  census,  174 ;  election 
of  1804,  188 ;  one  county  repre- 
sented in  Hartford  convenfcion, 
244;  election  of  1812,  251;  repre- 
sentation in  Congress  after  third 
census,  251. 

Veto,  the,  43. 

Vice  -  president  of  the  United 
States,  42,  45-6 ;  mode  of  election, 
62,  w.,  133,  163-5,  168-9;  candi- 
dates,   how  nominated,   133-3 ; 


the  vice' president  succeeds  to  the 
presidency  during  the  first  few 
administrations,  211-12. 
Virginia,  its  dispute  with  Mary- 
laud,  3,  19  ;  invites  other  States 
to  send  delegates  to  commercial 
convention  at  Annapolis,  19 ; 
presents  national  plan  of  govern- 
ment, 31  ;  representation  of 
slaves,  32 ;  votes  against  Bill  of 
Rights,  33 ;  her  western  lands, 
39,  n.;  struggle  over  ratification, 
58-60  ;  small  stills,  86  ;  cedes  dis- 
trict for  seat  of  government,  sub- 
sequent retrocession,  107-8  ;  lar- 
gest State  in  1790,  108 ;  nullifi- 
cation resolutions,  151,  153,  252; 
presidential  election  of  1800,  164  ; 
representation  in  Congress  after 
second  census,  174 ;  election  of 
1804,  188;  the  ''Virginia  dy- 
nasty," 212,  246,  251  ;  election  of 
1812,  251  ;  representation  in  Con- 
gress after  third  census,  251. 

War  Department  organized,  89. 

War  of  1812-15,  declared,  224-5; 
preceded  by  Hanson  riot,  227-9  ; 
its  story  briefly  told.  Chapter  XII. 

War,  power  to  declare,  confined  to 
general  government,  43-5 ;  pro- 
posal of  Hartford  convention 
concerning,  246. 

Washington,  city  of,  107-8,  156; 
burned  by  British  troops,  238. 

Washington,  George,  in  constitu- 
tional convention,  24,  27,  52 ; 
chosen  president,  62-3  ;  his  ad- 
ministration. Chapters  V.-VIL; 
Washington  decides  in  favor  of 
the  constitutionality  of  the  bank, 
83  ;  his  relations  to  his  cabinet,  90, 
93 ;  his  communications  with  Con- 
gress, 93,  n.\  his  taste  for  cere- 
monial, 98-9 ;  his  patriotic  policy 
regarding  foreign  powers,  101  ; 
selection  of  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment, 107 ;  his  disposition  to 
sacrifice  the  navigation  of  the 
Mississippi,  111-12  ;  accepts  a  re- 
nomination  in  1792,  112-13  ;  the 
Genet  episode,  115-8 ;  the  Brit- 
ish mission  and  Jay  treaty, 
120-1 ;  puts  down  the  Whiskey 
Insurrection,  124-5 ;  denounces 
the  democratic  societies,  125-6; 


332 


INDEX 


his  first  cabinet  falls  to  pieces  : 
weakness  of  the  new  cabinet, 
128-31 ;  declines  re-election  in 
1796,  132;  his  farewell  address, 
136;  accepts  lieutenant-general- 
cy,  with  reference  to  anticipated 
war  with  France,  140  ;  his  death, 
157  ;  his  aristocratic  sentiments, 
165. 

Wayne,  General  Anthony,  subdues 
Miami  confederation,  104-5. 

Webster,  Daniel,  opposes  tariff'  of 
1816,  261 ;  his  view  of  the  consti- 
tution, 267. 

West  Point.  See  Military  Acad- 
emy. 

Western  lands,  cession  of,  6-7. 

Western  posts  held  by  British 
after  treaty  of  1783,  12  ;  their  sur- 
render, 119-20. 

Western  Reserve,  Ohio,  39,  n. 

Western  States,  their  influence 
thrown  in  favor  of  unreserving 
nationality,  109-11,  270-1;  not 
favorable  to  sound  finance,  in  the 
early  stages  of  settlement,  112 ; 
fears  entertained  regarding  future 
States  at  the  West,  by  the  men 
of  the  constitutional  convention, 
181. 


Westward  movement  of  population 
one  of  the  marvels  of  history, 
264-6. 

Whiskey    tax,     85-7 ;  rebellion 
against,  123-5;  repealed  under 
Jefferson,  175;  re-enacted  under 
!     Madison,  255,  273. 
I  Whitney,  Eli,  invention  of  the  cot- 
ton-gin, 260. 
Wilkinson,  General,  his  relations  to 
Burr,  208;  invasion  of  Canada, 
236. 

Wilson,  James,  in  constitutional 
convention,  25,  33,  34,  35,  n.,  52. 

Winchester,  Colonel,  defeated  at 
Frenchtown,  235. 

Wolcott,  Oliver,  Jr. ,  quoted,  96-7 ; 
becomes  secretary  of  the  treasury, 
130 ;  retained  by  Adams,  137 ; 
intrigues  against  the  president, 
158-60 ;  resigns,  161. 

X.,  y.,  and  Z.,"  Messieurs,  139. 

Yates,  Robekt,  in  constitutional 
convention,  34;  opposes  consti* 
tution,  60. 

Yellow  fever  epidemic,  126. 

York,  Canada.    See  Toronto. 


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a  pure  and  lively  style,  a  sound  but  chastened  patriotism, 
and  a  recognition  at  once  scholarly  and  practical  of  that 
transcendent  idea,  the  *  Commonwealth  of  Nations.'  " 

—  The  Nation. 

**The  account  is  given  in  a  remarkably  interesting  and 
almost  dramatic  manner,  with  absolute  simplicity  and  direct- 
ness, with  good  judgment  and  an  unfailing  sense  of  the  rela- 
tive value  of  things,  which  keeps  the  history  in  good  historical 
perspective." — The  Independent, 

Three  Volumes  by  Prof,  John  W.  Burgess 
of  Columbia  University 

THE  MIDDLE  PERIOD 

1817-1860 

By  John  W.  Burgess,  Ph.D.,  LL.D.,  Professor  of 
Political  Science  and  Constitutional  Law  in  Columbia 
University.    With  maps.     i2mo,  ^i.oo  nef. 

"  We  believe  that  never  before  have  these  questions  been 
so  clearly  presented  for  the  use  of  the  general  reader  as  in 
the  well-written  and  compact  pages  of  this  volume." 

—  TAe  DiaL 

"  It  may  be  said  in  closing  that  the  book  is  written  in  a 
style  at  once  lucid  and  picturesque,  and  while  there  is  no 
attempt  at  dramatic  expression  the  reader's  interest  is  never 
allowed  to  lapse  because  of  uninteresting  methods  of  pre- 
senting facts." — Brooklyn  Eagle. 

"This  fourth  volume  of  the  'American  History  Series*  is 
in  point  of  excellence  fully  up  to  the  high  standard  of  the 
three  remarkable  preceding  volumes." — Chicago  Tribniie. 


THE  AMERICAN  HISTORY  SERIES  , 


THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  THE 
CONSTITUTION 

By  John  W.  Burgess,  Ph.D.,  LL.D.,  Professor  of 
Political  Science  and  Constitutional  Law  in  Columbia 
University.  With  maps.  i2mo,  in  two  volumes, 
^2.00  net. 

The  fifth  number  in  the  American  History  Series  " 
will  ably  sustain  the  high  reputation  of  the  preceding 
issues.  It  covers  the  interesting  and  most  important 
period  of  the  Civil  War  and  Reconstruction.  It  is 
eminently  a  constitutional  history  in  its  discussion  of 
the  points  at  issue  in  the  light  of  public  law  and  political 
science,  but  it  is  also  a  stirring  and  graphic  account  of 
the  events  of  the  war  (in  which  the  author  was  a  par- 
ticipator). An  especial  feature  of  the  book  is  its  brilliant 
and  searching  portraiture  of  the  great  personalities  con- 
cerned in  the  contest  on  both  sides, 

IN  PREPARATION 

RECONSTRUCTION  AND  THE 
CONSTITUTION 

By  Prof.  John  W.  Burgess,  Professor  of  Political 
Science  and  Constitutional  Law  in  Columbia  Uni- 
versity. 


Charles  Scribner's  Sons 

PUBLISHERS 

153-157  Fifth  Avenue  New  York 


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